Season 3
by gwrageddnc
Summary: Picks up after the cliffhanger of Season 2. Charlie and Bass are fighting together against the Patriots unaware of the looming threat of the nano. While fighting the Patriots they are also fighting their connection to each other. My take on Season 3, and what I would have found interesting. Rating may change later.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own anything. I don't own Revolution or any of the characters, I'm just borrowing them since they were left hanging when the show was cancelled. I also don't own any of the song lyrics used. Most are from Alice In Chains, from the album Sap. The other song used, belongs to the Rolling Stones. Author's Note at the bottom.

Chapter 1:

**2 Months after President's Capture**

**Shreveport, LA**

"Ok, what are we looking at?" Sebastian Monroe asked. He stood in a tent, in front of a large table. 4 officers stood in a line in front of him.

"Well, sir, we have them on the run. We've knocked out the conditioning center here and with the help of the locals; most of the Patriots are gone. We are questioning the ones we've captured, but so far, no new information has been given. It seems like the ones who had any real information left before we arrived." The Officer said. "We have about 30 kids we rescued from the center locked up." Bass sighed. He still thought that leaving those sleeper agent kids alive was a huge risk, but that was a fight he never even stood a chance on. So far, they really hadn't found enough yet, to warrant real concern and Rachel was determined to try and find a way to undo their conditioning.

Another officer, spoke up. "Sir, while we still have them on the run, our scouts indicate they are starting to turn."

Bass considered the officers before him. "Turn? They are heading north towards Miles?"

The officer shook his head. "No, Sir. They are turning south."

"South? Are you sure?"

"Yes, Sir." Another officer affirmed.

Bass cursed and studied the map.

Charlie spoke up from his side. "Do you think they are going to try and go back towards Texas? Sneak around us?"

Bass shook his head. "That's unlikely. Reinforcements are coming in from the east; I don't think they could move enough men through the swamps to be enough of a threat to the troops at the Texas border." He continued to stare at the map. "What are these bastards up to? If they go too far south, they are going to run into New Orleans. They can't be that crazy."

"They might be that desperate, Sir." One officer spoke up. "Not many men are willing to face either you or General Matheson." Charlie rolled her eyes. Bass didn't even have to look at her to see it. He knew her well enough by now; he could almost physically feel her facial expressions.

Bass scoffed. "Well, that hasn't stopped them from fighting so far. I doubt they've had a sudden change of heart. No, they are up to something and we need to find out what."

"Are you thinking we should head south after them?" Charlie asked him.

Bass hesitated. "Since the blackout, most everything below here is under water and swamp land. It'll be hard going and we aren't really equipped for that on a large scale." Bass considered. "Send a runner up to Miles. He should be about in Texarkana by now. See if he is seeing similar movements, make sure the runner is good, if those troops are all migrating south, we don't want him walking into an army."

"Yes, Sir."

"Excuse me sir," another officer spoke up. "I don't mean to disagree with you, but…" Bass could hear Charlie's eye roll again. He idly wondered what these officers thought of his second in command clearly having no respect for him. In the old days, he would have had someone like her killed. He almost laughed at loud at the thought. Killing Charlie Matheson was the one thing he would never do. He glanced over at the young woman; she was studiously looking at the map. He'd been around her long enough to know she was absorbing everything. The girl was smart and had the mind and instinct of a soldier. She had proven herself more than enough times in the past few weeks.

At first he was furious when Miles informed him, that she was going with him.

**Austin , Tx**

**5 Weeks Before**

"Absolutely NOT!" Bass snapped.

"If you think I'm letting you go off into the wild blue, with 200 men and no adult supervision, you are out of your mind." Miles snapped back.

"After everything I've done in the past few weeks…." Bass started.

"Really? You mean like trying to steal our train?"

"Hey, I helped you in the end and I brought you the President."

Miles sighed. "You did. And I am thankful for it, but it put you in a really good position with the Texas government and because of everything you've done in the past, I don't trust you with this much power."

"Look, Miles, this isn't about getting the Republic back. This is about finding Conner, wherever he is with Neville. I'm betting that son of a bitch is taking my kid to D.C., either to destroy or take it over." He had searched for Connor in the past week. He found they had escaped from where he locked them in and he had followed their tracks, but they had just disappeared. When Texas had decided it wasn't going to be enough to push the Patriots back to their border, but wanted to push them all the way back to D.C, they offered him and Miles both a commission. Bass had been delighted to accept. They were handing him troops basically to go after his son.

"That's what worries me." Miles stated. "How do I know that you won't make plans to switch sides when we get there, taking your troops and our intel with you?"

Bass glared at him. "Because after we sweep through, we are meeting you up in Knoxville and going in together, remember? It was your plan." Miles was going to follow the old I-30 to I-40 route up through Little Rock, Memphis, and Nashville. Bass was going to go I-20 to I-59 through Shreveport, Jackson and Birmingham, since these were the area's most suitable for travel with troops. They had smaller units moving in between them to take out scouting parties or any little settlements in between. Texas didn't want to conquer the lands they were crossing, just set the Patriots and their conditioning centers back a good 10 years.

"Yah, but that still gives you a lot of time to make your little moves and deals. I know you, remember. I know what you are capable of."

"You know what, fuck you, Miles." Bass started, but he cut him off.

"WHAT is the problem here? You know she's good. You know she can handle herself. You've worked together in the past few months enough to know you make a decent team. You can trust her to have your back. I've trained her myself."

Bass looked away. All of what Miles said was true. Charlie was a damn good soldier. They DID work well together, but that was the problem. The two of them could communicate with a look during battle. Sometimes, they didn't even need that, they sometimes were able to anticipate the other's movements. In many ways, it was like having Miles back at his side again, but yet it was completely different. Bass was _aware _of Charlie on a completely different level. Aware in a way that made him extremely uncomfortable and he didn't want to think about. He did know that he didn't want to be with her this long just the two of them relying on each other.

"She's a pain in the ass like her mother." Bass countered. Although, Charlie really wasn't. She could be, but she also understood that sometimes things needed to be done.

Miles had had enough. "Look, I'm sorry you thought this was up for debate, but it's not. This is the way it is. You want these troops? You want to do this? This is the condition. It's happening, so just get used to it."

With that Miles turned away, leaving him to glare at his retreat.

**Present**

Bass shook off his thoughts and memories. He looked back at the soldier who was hesitating, waiting for his ok before finishing his thought. He gestured impatiently. "Out with it." He snapped. Ok, so maybe the obedient thing was getting a bit old.

"Well, sir, it will take at least a week, to hear back from the other camp. Shouldn't we do something before then?"

"We are, Collins." Bass addressed him. "I'm going to lead a small scouting party south and see what we can find out. I'll take about 20 men."

"Sir, are you sure you should be the one to lead it, what if they regroup and attack?"

"We'll only be gone about 2 days." Bass told him.

"But sir…" Another officer spoke up.

Charlie cut him off. "Our scouts to the East are at least 3 days fast ride. This means, they haven't encountered anything to worry about in between us and them. We'll have time to check things out and be back, if they do come across any trouble. And we'll go down southeast, so there isn't a chance the Patriots are coming back around to hit you."

Bass shook his head. Another example of her being able to read his mind clearly, part of him admired it; the other found it extremely irritating. "I didn't say you were coming." He said to her. She looked at him, but didn't speak. He gritted his teeth. He knew that set of her jaw and the steel behind her eyes. She was going whether he liked it or not. He looked back at the officers.

"Get me 20 men ready to ride out tomorrow before first light. Also, if there are any capable locals that may be familiar with the terrain and area these days, that would be helpful. And get that runner on the way to Miles."

"Yes, Sir!" Four voices sounded at once and they filed out.

He was alone again in the tent with Charlie; she was studying the map, but had a mocking smile on her face.

"What?" He asked her, feeling the familiar irritation at the girl…and something else.

"Nothing, sir." She said.

"Stop." He said. "Just stop, ok."

"Yes, sir." She said, with the smile in her voice clearly now.

"Thanks." He said sarcastically.

She turned towards him. "So, what is the deal with New Orleans?" She asked curiously, done with teasing him for the moment.

"It was a wild place before the blackout." He smiled with nostalgia. "Your uncle and I had some great times there."

"So not interested." Charlie interrupted. She hated the fact that any talk of his past loves or women caused a reaction inside of her.

"Anyway," he continued on. "It was also a pretty rough city. It was below sea level and they kept the water out with pumps and levees. After the power went out, the city flooded and with the change of climate, most of Louisiana flooded. The people started following old religions like Voodou again. Now, they are almost like a primitive tribe. Not many people can get in and out. You don't go uninvited or you wind up sacrificed and hung up in the swamps as an example. No one is sure how many people are down there or what it's like, but the stories that do come out." He gave her a small smile. "Well, even on my worst day, I was a fluffy kitten compared to these guys."

Charlie raised an eyebrow. That was a scary thought. "You think it's possible the Patriots don't know that and New Orleans could take care of them for us?" She asked.

"That's what I'm hoping, but I don't want to leave it to chance." He shook his head. "If they somehow got New Orleans to side with them that is not something I want at our back." He stopped. "No, we need to find out what's going on."

Charlie studied him. She could tell his mind was working out all possible outcomes to this. She hated to admit it, but he could see things in movements of troops and plans that most of their men thought bordered on mystical. Charlie could admit, if only to herself, she was impressed with his military acuity. She learned something from him every day. She had started to see, how he had managed to rule the Monroe Republic before the paranoia and thirst for power had set in.

She turned back to the map as anger surged up inside of her. Damn Miles for sending her out here with Monroe. She didn't want to understand him; she didn't want to empathize with him. She wanted to hate him. She wanted to remember what he had done and what he was capable of.

**Austin, TX 3 Weeks before**

"Charlie!"

They young woman looked up at the shout. She had been watching on the sidelines as all around her Texas troops prepared to deploy and go after the Patriots. Miles hurried towards, a look of concern on his face.

"Oh no." She commented. "What now?"

"What makes you think there's a problem?" Miles asked her. Charlie just gave him a look. He sighed.

"Ok, look. The Texans are preparing to go out hunting these Patriots. The plan is to drive them back to Washington and then tear them down from there."

"Yah, I know." Charlie gestured behind her. "I've kinda noticed they are getting ready to deploy."

"The President of Texas has asked me to lead one of the troops. She wants me to be a General again, in an official capacity to Texas."

Charlie grinned. "Impressive. You taking the gig?"

"I don't want to, but unfortunately, it does seem like we are the most capable."

"We?" Charlie felt a churning in her stomach.

"Yah, me and Bass. They've given him troops, too."

"After everything's he's done, they're letting him lead troops?" She asked in disbelief.

"Pretty much." Miles sighed and rubbed a hand over his face. "He did help us take down the Patriots and show Texas who was really to blame. And like I said, we are the most capable."

"They can't send him out there with troops just like that. He needs to be watched. They can't trust him!" She exclaimed. He wasn't trustworthy, every time she thought that maybe, just maybe, she could rely on him, he only let her down. Granted he always seemed to come through when it mattered, but that didn't change what he was, who he was.

"That's what I told them." Miles agreed and stared at her.

"No." She protested.

He just shrugged.

"Miles there is no way, I'm going with him."

"C'mon Charlie. I can trust you with this. You're gonna be his second in command. A full Lieutenant." He paused. "That's not a bad position to be starting your military career. Texas is good at policing and skirmishes, but it's been a long time since they've had to fight a war." And actually she deserved the position. She had more than proven herself as a soldier and she had a good mind for tactics.

Charlie glared at him. "That doesn't mean I can keep General Sebastian Monroe in line." She countered.

"You kept me line plenty of times." Miles told her. "Just judge him, like you do me and give him that look full of disappointment. You know, be your usual pain in the ass self."

Charlie gave him a look.

"That's the one." Miles sighed. "You wanted to go, Charlie. I'm not asking you to personally stop him if he starts going down the rabbit hole again, I'm just asking you to keep an eye on him, if you can, keep him from going too far. We'll meet up in Knoxville; I just want eyes on him until then." She still was shaking her head no. "You've worked with him before. You know how he thinks; you know how to read him."

Charlie just stared at him, her mind going a mile a minute. She did know how to read him, something she didn't want. She didn't want to be near him. She didn't want to be traveling with him. She didn't want anything that would make these strange thoughts more prevalent.

"I don't think this is a good idea, Miles."

"Yeah, well, you're all I've got. So will you help me?"

"Fine. But you know he'll never agree to it."

"I'm not giving him the option." Miles told her. "And can you do me a favor? Don't tell your mom I set this up please."

Charlie just sighed and rolled her eyes.

**Present**

So far, she really hadn't had any problems with Monroe. She was there every time he met with the other officers. She hadn't seen him sneaking off for any secret meetings. Pretty much he was focused on the task at hand.

Shreveport was the first city they had come upon with a Patriot stronghold, but they had routed them easily. The fight was short and they had very few casualties on their side. Monroe's plan had been almost air tight. She didn't admit that she felt pride when she was able to notice a few flaws with it and he had quickly agreed with her. She knew it was thanks to the both of them they had done so well.

"Has there been any sign of Connor?" She asked him, interrupting his musings.

He looked over at her. Whenever she mentioned his son, he gave her the strangest looks. It was one of his few she couldn't interpret. "No. Neville either." He walked away from the map and looked outside where the troops were going about their daily duties. "Part of me wonders if they didn't head back to Mexico. Connor may have had enough connections down there to start an army of his own." He shook his head. He just didn't know. He had been sure they would be with the Patriots somehow, but what if he was wrong and missed the opportunity to mend fences with Connor?

"Do you really think he'll follow Neville for long? I kinda think he's smarter than that."

Bass hesitated. "Yah, well, he's pissed enough at me, he just might."

"He's pissed at you for saving people?" Charlie asked doubtfully.

Bass was silent for a few moments. He hadn't told anyone yet about what had happened. "No." He finally said. "Connor and Neville almost go the drop on me when I left with the president." He admitted.

"What?" Charlie asked.

"Yah, they gave me the opportunity to kill him and leave with them. Neville even had a gun on me. I got by 'em and locked them up while I got the president out and to you and Miles." He looked over at her. She was staring at him, her eyes held some weird mixture of disbelief and admiration. He hated that it made him feel a bit better about what he had done. He didn't need her affirmation for his actions.

"You chose keeping your word to Miles over your son and a chance to get back your Republic?" She asked him.

"Look, let's not make a thing out of this ok? I did what I said I was going to do, that's it." He snapped, turning back to face outside. "I went back as soon as things calmed down. I couldn't find where they went."

"If we don't find him by the time we reach D.C., I'll help you look, if you want." The words were out of her mouth before she realized they were coming. Where did that come from? She wanted away from him, so why was she volunteering to spend more time with him?

He turned back to her with a glare on his face. "Really? That anxious to start boning my kid again, that you'll volunteer to spend time with me?" He asked with acid in his voice. "Can't find any of our troops that are as good of a lay as a Monroe?" He taunted her. He couldn't help it. For some reason any reminder of the physical relationship she had with Conner made him angry.

"Fuck you, Monroe!" She snapped back at him. "I was trying to be nice. I don't know why I even bother. You're such a fucking asshole." It was a strange bitter relief he felt at her ferocity. This he could handle her hating him. He couldn't deal with her being nice, he couldn't deal with her compassion.

Charlie was embarrassed and angry. She wasn't hurt by his words. She wouldn't give him that much power over her. The sting she felt was just embarrassment and anger. Really. How could she keep forgetting who and what he was?

**Outside Austin, TX**

Connor was still with Neville, but he was getting more and more nervous. The guy seemed to have lost his mind while they were trapped in that hole his dad locked them in. He frequently had conversations with his wife and son, even though, both were dead.

Connor had thought they were going to head to D.C. once they found out the President had been captured, but Neville told him they needed to wait. He said he had troops on the way and with their help, they'd recapture the President. Neville said he had plans for him.

Not long after that, the 'troops' started showing up. They all seemed unbalanced. Many of them were talking to themselves similar to Neville and they started praising some God they claimed led them there and performed miracles.

Connor had been around religious people before. Mexico may not exactly be a place filled with virtuous people, but they did still have their beliefs. However, these people took it to a whole level. Connor thought he needed to get out of here, maybe go find his dad. From what they had heard, it seems that by turning in the US President, his dad had been made a General of one the armies. Miles had been made a General of another. If the stories were true, Charlie was his father's Lieutenant. He hated that thought. What was she doing? She hated his father. So why was she taking his place? Had he been that easy to replace?

He was worried about where he was and the longer he thought about it the more resentment he felt towards his father, Charlie and Miles.

"Connor." A voice interrupted his thoughts. He looked up in shock. It had been years since he'd seen her, but he'd know her voice anywhere.

"Mom?"

**Shreveport, LA**

"Sir?" A soldier approached Monroe distracting him and Charlie from their argument. Monroe almost growled at the kid before him.

"What?" He snapped. He stared at the kid, Devon was his name. The kid didn't even have the brains to tell he was interrupting or that he was moments away from getting his neck snapped. He had been a problem ever since they set out. He was cowardly, lazy. They usually kept him in the back from the action, giving him more administrative duties because Bass didn't trust him out in combat. This kid would get others hurt, they couldn't rely on him. The only reason he was there was because he was the son of a politician back in Texas who wanted to give his boy combat experience to turn him into a man. Bass had news for the guy, that wasn't going to happen.

"I just wanted to let Lt. Matheson know I've gathered supplies for her to leave in the morning and wondered if she needed anything else." Charlie smiled kindly at him. She had taken the boy under her wing and made him her personal assistant.

"No, just go help the others. I'll finish the rest myself."

He smiled back, proud as anything like he had done something wonderful. Now it was Bass who rolled his eyes. The boy quickly left.

"You know he's just going to go sit on his ass now." Bass commented.

"He's just young, he's barely 20. He's scared and he needs some encouragement." She argued.

"Charlie, that boy is dangerous. You can't rely on him on the field. He's selfish and he'd put other troops in danger to save his own ass. He's been spoiled rotten too long."

"I think he'll be ok." She insisted. "I've been training him."

"Yah, how's that going?"

She hesitated. "He's gotten better." She said slowly.

Bass looked at her. "Well he hasn't gotten any worse." She muttered.

"See?" He insisted. He gave her a sharp look. "You aren't sleeping with him, are you?"

Her anger flared back up immediately. "Not that it's ANY of your business, but no. I'm not sleeping with him; I'm not sleeping with any of our troops. I wouldn't do that."

"Oh." Bass said, almost innocently. "Just troops under Miles' command, like the one the night before we left."

Charlie looked at him in shock. How did he know about that?

**Austin, TX**

**1 Month Before – The night before deployment**

"C'mon Miles." Bass was imploring him. "Its tradition. This is what we do. It's just like old times."

Miles shot him a look. "I'm really not as fond of the 'old times' as you are Bass." He commented dryly.

"Miles, can you just give me this? Please? Ok?" Bass asked exasperated. "We leave out tomorrow and there are no guarantees, even for us. So can you please, just sit and have the damn drink without the bitching and whining. Like we used to."

Miles sighed, but finally sat down. They were in a crowded bar that most of the military units frequented. It was completely packed tonight since a lot of them were leaving the next day with Miles and Bass.

Bass sat down across from him, a bottle of whiskey between them and a smile on his face. He poured two glasses and handed one to Miles. Miles let out a grudging grin as they clinked glasses and drank down the liquor. How many times had they done this? It was familiar, comfortable and Miles had to admit it, he had missed his friend. Right now, he looked more like the man Miles once knew. There was still a cold hardness, to his eyes, but Miles knew that was in his own these days as well. They had both seen too much over the years. He couldn't imagine either of them ever losing it.

Bass' grin grew.

"What?" Miles asked, suddenly worried what he had up his sleeve.

"I've got a surprise." Bass told him.

"Great." Miles grumbled.

"You're gonna love it." He motioned behind him. Miles turned slowly afraid he was going to see two prostitutes behind him. Something he had Bass had done for each other almost as much as they had their drinks before going out to fight. It was part of their tradition. However, instead of two cheap hookers, behind him stood two soldiers holding guitar cases. Miles couldn't help it, a real grin spread across his face.

"I told you, you'd love it." Bass said. As crowded as the bar was, they had their own section due to the fact they were commanding officers. This gave them enough room to slide back from the table and pick up the guitars. Miles admired his for a moment.

"They're in good shape."

"It's yours. I bought it for you." Bass told him. Miles' smile turned sad. He remembered back when they were both teenagers and their attempt to start a band. They had spent hours holed up in each other's basement, practicing to be rock stars. It had been so much simpler back then. "There's a pick in there for you too." Bass said.

"I've got one of those." Miles pulled the pick he had found out of his pocket and looked at it admiringly.

"Story behind that?" Bass asked. He had picked up his guitar and was making sure it was tuned.

"Something like that." Miles admitted, but didn't continue. When it was clear he wasn't going to Bass started strumming. Miles immediately recognized the song.

"Really? Alice in Chains?" He joined it. "Well, it is kind of appropriate."

Bass didn't answer him, just started singing low. _"Frozen in the place I hide…."_

Across the room, Charlie and her mom stood watching the two.

"I didn't know they could play." Charlie commented to her mom.

Rachel nodded. "They used to have a band. Even after they enlisted they still kept it up. They used to play all the time."

Miles' voice joined Monroe's for the chorus.

"_You were always so far away  
I know that pain so don't you run away  
Like you used to do"_

Rachel scoffed. "Nice choice of music."

"They don't sound too bad though." Charlie commented. She couldn't take her eyes off of them. Actually, she couldn't take her eyes of Monroe. She had never seen this side of him. He almost looked peaceful, if that was the right word. He looked comfortable in his own skin. She listened to them finish the song. Her mom was right the lyrics really seemed to be written about the two of them. "What are they playing?" She asked.

"An old Alice in Chains song, called 'Brother'." Rachel said. "Bass will always have some hold over Miles. There's just too much history there."

Rachel turned towards Charlie. "I don't want you going with him tomorrow." Her mother said. Charlie sighed and turned to order a drink. They'd had this conversation numerous times over the past week.

"You don't say." Charlie said sarcastically.

The bar had quieted since Miles and Monroe started playing. She didn't even have to strain to hear the lyrics of the next song they sang.

"_Yah, it goes away…"_

The waiter handed her a glass with some corn liquor in it. She took a drink. She turned to find her mother watching her with narrowed eyes. She stared back at her, daring her to say something about her having a drink. Rachel sighed and seemed to deflate from this. They both looked back to where they were playing.

"_Stay if you please  
You may not be here when I leave_

As of now I bet you got me wrong  
So unsure we reach for something strong

I haven't felt like this in so long  
Wrong, in a sense too far gone from love  
Strong, I haven't felt like this in so long  
Wrong, in a sense too far gone from love  
That don't last forever  
Something's gotta turn out right"

Bass was lost in the music with Miles. Somehow the lyrics felt so appropriate right now. The music flowed out of both of them. How long had it been since he'd had this? He had forgotten what a release playing music could be. As they sang the last chorus he looked up and somehow locked on to the bright blue eyes of Charlie standing in the crowd. He felt like everything else just faded into the background. It was like she was the only thing he knew. As the song finished he broke her gaze and swept his eyes around the bar feeling shaken.

By now enough people had stopped to listen to them that they clapped when they finished. He and Miles shared a grin.

"Might as well keep going." Miles said, pouring another glass. Bass followed suit and they toasted and drank them down. Then started again.

"_Inside always trying to get back inside_

_But its so hard to penetrate pig-thick skin…"_

Rachel turned back to her daughter as they started again. She had been focused on Miles and hadn't noticed the way Bass had stared at Charlie or the way Charlie seemed to freeze lost in his gaze.

Feeling her mother's look, Charlie turned towards her.

"Fine, I can't stop you from going, but I want you to be careful. I don't care what Bass has done recently. He's still the same. You can't trust him." Rachel told her seriously.

"This is the whole reason I'm going with him. We are all very aware he can't be trusted." Charlie answered back. She took another drink and almost coughed as it burned down her throat. This definitely wasn't the good stuff Miles was drinking. She could go over to Miles and Monroe and probably have some of their liquor, but she didn't want to get any closer to them than she was. She strongly felt the need to keep her distance.

"But you aren't careful enough. I've seen you rely on him too many times in a fight."

"And he's always come through." She said.

Rachel sighed. "Yes, he promised me that he would keep you safe, but you can't count on that Charlie, not if you get in his way."

"Wait, what?"

"In the tower, when we were locked in the room, Bass promised me I wouldn't lose another child. He promised to make sure you were safe."

The music reached a crescendo and she could hear them clearly as they sang out.

"_Well it's hard to believe that somebody tricked you  
When you can see you were only high  
It's all up to you so you gamble  
Flat on your face and into the fire"_

Charlie felt the words like a punch. That was why he always came to her rescue? A promise to her mother? She quickly spoke, trying to shake of the pain of that realization.

"But he has come through. It doesn't matter why." Why would it matter? She wondered to herself. Why should she care? "I'll keep my eyes open and Miles already told me, if anything starts to go sideways, I'm to just get out, not directly confront him." Internally Charlie really wondered, was it true? Was that all he saw her as? The surviving Matheson child? The way to get back to Miles and Rachel's good graces. She looked back towards them. The applause was louder now and people started shouting out requests. Miles and Monroe were both smiling and sharing another drink.

"Willie Nelson!" Someone yelled.

"Bruce Springsteen!" Another yelled.

"Please just be careful." Her mother said. "I don't want to lose you."

"Rolling Stones!"

Miles and Monroe exchanged a look and a grin, then in unison began to play.

"_I saw her today at the reception  
A glass of wine in her hand  
I knew she would meet her connection  
At her feet was a footloose man"_

Charlie looked back at her mother, getting her treacherous thoughts under control. "I will be. I'll be fine. I promise." She reached out and hugged her mother. When she pulled back she gave her a smart smile. "Now, it's my last night and no offense, but I don't really wanna spend it hanging out with my mom." She told her, her smile took the sting out of her words though.

Rachel gave her a small laugh. "Go. Go unwind. I'll see you tomorrow before you leave."

"Thanks mom." Charlie told her. "I will be ok." She assured her again, before turning and heading to the bar. Rachel watched her go with trepidation. It was so hard letting her go. She still couldn't fathom how her baby had grown up so fast. She turned back to the men playing, for a moment her expression darkened as she looked at Bass, remembering how he kept her prisoner for so long. She had missed so much.

She shifted her gaze to Miles; she started moving forward at the sight of him. It was rare to see him like this. Smiling, relaxed and having fun. She wanted to be around him just to watch him smile, even if Bass was the one currently causing him to smile. He brightened at her approach.

"_You can't always get what you want  
You can't always get what you want  
You can't always get what you want  
But if you try sometimes well you just might find  
You get what you need"_

Rachel smiled back at him as she took a seat across from him. She knew he was singing to her. She was focused on ignoring Monroe, so she didn't see what his attention was focused on.

Charlie had moved to the bar and ordered another drink. They refilled her glass and she took another drink. She licked a drop off her lips and as she did she knew, just knew, what she would see when she turned her head. For a few seconds she resisted the pull, afraid of what it meant, but it was futile, her head turned on its own. Once again she was caught in his bright blue eyes as he and Miles sang out the chorus to the song. There were probably 50 people between them, crammed elbow to elbow in the small space, but she felt as though she was only inches away. She didn't notice anyone around her; his eyes burning into hers were almost like a physical touch. She wanted to look away, but she didn't seem to be able to. It was like her mind refused to acknowledge there was an 'away'. All she was aware of was Monroe. Fragments of thoughts and memories ran through her mind, all the different versions she had seen of him, the fighter, the general, the mercenary, the hero, the maniac. Her brain spun in circles, unable to reconcile all the different emotions she had regarding him. But it still refused to look away. She took a deep drink from her glass, but the way her mind spun, that was probably a mistake. They were on the last chorus now and she was still locked in his gaze.

"_You can't always get what you want  
You can't always get what you want  
You can't always get what you want  
But if you try sometimes well you just might find  
You get what you need"_

She was certain he was singing it to her. She was just as certain that wasn't possible. Fear struck her and something else. Something impossible….desire? She tried to breathe and concentrate, but her head spun. She took a step forward and then stopped herself. What was she doing?

They finished playing and the applause was loud now, people cheered. Bass' eyes were still on her and she took another step forward, but just then someone stepped in front of her. Startled she looked up and met the eyes of a young soldier.

"You like music?" He asked shyly.

Charlie almost laughed out loud. She took a deep breath to clear her head. What had just happened? She studied the soldier in front of her. He was about her age, kind of cute and it was obvious from the smile on his face he was interested in her. She realized that maybe she should have some fun of her own tonight. It was obvious she needed to find some release if she was having thoughts about…..she turned off that line of thought before she could complete it.

"I do." She finally answered him, with smile. "You heading out tomorrow?" She asked. She was pretty certain he wasn't under her command.

"Yeah, with General Matheson." He told her. Her smile got a bigger.

"Really? I'm with Monroe."

The boy, because that was how he seemed, got a bit more confident that she seemed to have some interest.

"I know. Everyone knows who you are."

"Oh?"

"Yah, you're like a legend, like they are." He told her earnestly.

Charlie almost sighed. She got a lot of this. Well, maybe if she could get him to stop talking they could get to other things. "You wanna buy me another drink?" She asked.

"Yes!" He said quickly.

As they finished up the song, Miles and Rachel began to talk and Bass quickly realized he was a third wheel. The crowd let out a sound of disappointment that their entertainment was over, but quickly went back to their conversations. A woman approached as Bass put down his guitar.

"That was amazing!" She gushed. She wore a shirt that left little to the imagination and even managed to find some cosmetic substitutes to try and paint herself up. She was attractive in an obvious cheap way. She put her hand on his arm and smiled coquettishly.

"Thanks." He told her amiably, but in reality felt no interest in what she was offering.

"Don't suppose you'd want to buy me a drink?" She practically purred. He gave her his most winning smile.

"I'd love to, but I have to go see one of my officers, make sure we're ready for tomorrow." He tried to put the right amount of regret in his voice. The woman wilted visibly, when she wasn't trying so hard, she wasn't nearly as attractive.

"Well, if you get done soon and change your mind…." She let the sentence trail off; she was starting to seem desperate.

"I'll find you." Bass told her.

She walked away slightly upset.

"Getting picky in your old age?" Miles asked after she left. He and Rachel were staring at him. For a quick second he wondered if they realized who he was thinking of, but then realized they both looked amused, not irate.

"Just wanna see what else might be out there." He commented. Miles shook his head with a laugh. "Don't wanna settle too early." Miles had enough to drink, combined with the music, he was in too good of a mood to be snarky or angry with him. It made Bass feel guilty and horrible about where his thoughts were right now.

"Well, don't let us stand in your way." Miles told him. He waved for Bass to go wander.

Bass headed immediately for the bar even though he knew he shouldn't. He wondered when it became a habit to seek her out with his eyes. When did he start looking towards her to try and read her thoughts and why did he care? He had spotted her through the crowd, standing by the bar, with very little effort, as though he was tuned to her. At first she was focused on her drink and then finally he saw her turn his way. Once again, everything fell away. All he knew was her. He saw her take a step towards him and he had unwillingly put all of the emotions tied up inside of him into the song. As wrong as it was, he was trying to lure her closer. They shipped out tomorrow and part of him wanted nothing more than to spend this last night in her company. It was strange, he wasn't even thinking about sex, he just wanted to be around her.

She had taken another step towards him as the song was ending and then someone stepped in between them. It broke the spell immediately and he realized he must be losing his mind. Not her. Not Charlie. Not ever. He swore that to himself.

So why was he walking through the bar trying to find her right now? Finally he cleared the crowd and made his way to where he had last seen her.

He saw her again. She was talking to some young kid in Miles' crew. The kid was smiling at her, obviously trying to pick her up. He seemed to be talking a mile a minute trying to impress her. Charlie just stood there, smiling at him predatorily. He recognized the look immediately. The kid didn't even realize she had already decided to sleep with him.

Bass turned away feeling nauseous. He wondered how much he'd had to drink. What was he thinking? Charlie was off limits. He couldn't feel anything for her. He needed to get this under control and fast.

For a second his face tightened at the thought of the kid's hands on her, but he walked quickly away before he could let the thought linger. He headed over to where he saw the woman who had just approached him.

She looked up as he walked over. She wore an exaggerated pout now. "Turns out, everything is already set up." He told. "How about that drink?" Her face lit up with excitement. This would get his mind off of Charlie. He didn't care how she spent her night. And later as he fucked the woman in front of him, it wasn't Charlie's eyes that kept appearing in his mind.

**Present**

Charlie stared at him in shock when he told her he knew she slept with that kid. For an instant she thought he could actually see inside her, like she sometimes felt he was able to do, and knew that it had been him her mind kept conjuring while the boy pawed at her. She was terrified he knew that it was the image of him, fresh from the prize fighting, the night she found him in New Vegas that finally pushed her over the edge. She quickly realized that was impossible though and turned the tables on him.

"Why is my sex life so important to you?" She demanded. "This is the third time you brought it up."

"It's not, as long as it doesn't affect your job or the jobs of these men we are relying on. We don't need them distracted." He told her. As soon as he brought up their last night, he regretted it. He didn't want the reminder of that night. He tried like hell to forget the connection he felt to her and just focus on what was going on in the here and now.

"Has there been a problem with my job performance so far?" She asked, getting angry.

"Which one?" He snapped. "The one where you are supposed to be my second in command? Or the one where you report my every move to Miles?"

"Hey, you knew what this was. You know why I'm here and if you don't like, too bad. You brought it on yourself." She marched over and got right in his face. "Miles told you why I was coming. He told you he didn't trust you, just because you haven't brought it up until now didn't make it any less true. It's not like we hid anything from you. We were honest about it."

Monroe looked away from her. It was true. They had been honest with him and he couldn't really even blame them for not trusting him. Mainly, he said it to try and change the subject. However, that didn't mean he didn't resent it, resent her being here reminding him of things he had done wrong and all the things he could never, ever have.

"Whatever, let's just get ready for tomorrow." He told her, trying to dismiss her. He turned and started to pack a bag to leave out in the morning. However, she didn't leave. She just stood there watching him.

"Can I ask you a question?" She said, there was only curiosity in her voice instead of the anger he expected.

"Can I really stop you?" All he wanted was for her to go away at this point.

"Do you really want the Republic back, or is just the only thing you know?" He froze. She continued. "Were you really happy there leading? Do you think you'd be happy now, even if Connor was by your side? Or Miles? You are happy out there in the fight. You enjoy it." He bristled and turned towards her angrily.

"What can I say, maybe I just like killing?" He said snidely.

She gave him a look. "That's what I used to think. But now, I get it. The adrenaline, the fighting. I've been doing it long enough; I understand why you and Miles like it." He stared at her, he could tell she did. She understood. "My question is do you really want to be the guy in charge again? Do you want to be the guy behind the desk, just ordering others, being responsible for the well being of that many people on so many levels?" She studied him. "No matter how you rule, there will always be someone out to get you. You will always be looking over your shoulder."

He opened his mouth to answer her, and then shut it quickly. He found he didn't know what to say. She was right. She was so very right.

It seemed like she was looking right through him again. "Do you think that is the only reason Connor came with you? Because you offered him power?" She asked gently.

He turned abruptly away from her. That was exactly what he believed. The boy had no interest in him until he offered to make him a king. That was the only thing he had to offer him. That and hands so coated in blood they would never be able to be clean.

Finally he spoke. "Why don't you do us both a favor and worry a little less about my motives and a little more about what we're about to do. This is going to be hard tomorrow. I need you at top form." He informed her coldly.

"Yes….sir." She answered him and then left his tent.

He sat down heavily on his bed and just put his face in his hands.

Outside Texarkana

"General Matheson!" An officer ran over to Miles where he was conferring with some others. He looked up at his approach. "Sir, we just got intel off of one of them men we interrogated."

"What is it?" Miles asked.

"Sir the Patriots have set up a blockade around New Orleans. Apparently, after delivering the US government back from Cuba, they filled the boats back up with soldiers and have an armada floating around the area with numerous camps throughout the swamp."

"Son of a bitch!" Miles swore. "How many?" The soldier looked uncomfortable. "HOW MANY SOLDIERS DO THEY HAVE DOWN THERE?" He demanded.

"Close to a thousand." The soldier told him.

Miles turned and began barking orders. "Get me runners, right now. I need to get a message to Monroe, tell them they are not to follow the troops south. They are walking into a trap!"

A/N: Thanks to everyone who took the time to read this. First of all, I don't have a beta, I tried to read back over things, but sometimes my mind skip over things. Any mistakes are all mine and I do apologize if they take away from the story.

As far as the story goes, I have over half of it outlined and I'm hoping to update about once a week. I will admit that the deeper in a I get the more trouble I'm having with believable ways that they can beat the nano. I do have a theory in mind, but I'm not sure if its too cheesy or it will be in any way logical. Hopefully, it will work its way out as the story comes along. I will have all of the characters in this, as well as a few of my own imagination, but the story will mainly focus on Charlie and Bass as they come to terms with each other and the situations they will encounter.

Any and all constructive feedback is welcome. I'm trying to keep the characters in line with the show as much as possible. Hopefully you will enjoy. Thanks for your time!


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: See the first chapter. It hasn't changed.

Chapter 2:

They had a quick debrief before leaving, right before the grey of night turned into pink.

There was a map of Louisiana behind Bass as he spoke before the men gathered in front of him.

"While Texas and what was formally Georgia both like to claim Louisiana and New Orleans, the truth is they don't have power over anything below Alexandria." He told them. "This is wild country. The Patriots have to know this, so they must be heading somewhere in between. We're going to follow what was the Red River down. Since the water levels have risen, most of this has become swamp land, so we will be in boats and steering off to the side from the main channel. We are trying to find out if they have another camp hidden down there and take out any scouting parties we may find to question. We are doing simple recon. We do not engage the Patriots unless necessary and use as much stealth as possible when engaging. We do not under any circumstances try to engage with any New Orleans scouts, so wait for orders from either myself or Lt Matheson before doing anything." Bass stared down the men before him. "Is this clear?" He asked, sternly.

"Yes, SIR!" They all answered at once, only Devon's voice was heard behind the others.

She felt Monroe cast a glance in her direction

Charlie had also decided to bring Devon along, she thought a smaller mission like this might push him forward. At least test what he could do under pressure.

She had expected Monroe to argue with her about bringing him, but he hadn't.

He simply stared at her as they walked up. "If he fucks up, I'm going to shoot him in the head." He told her. She narrowed her gaze. "If you choose to bring him, then it's on you." They had a silent battle of wills for several moments before he walked away.

Devon was even more nervous after hearing that, but he took it as he did everything else. "Why does he have to be such a dick?" He asked. Charlie turned her gaze to him.

"Because he's responsible for a lot of lives." She snapped. His eyes got wide at her tone. "Look, they've taken it easy on you because they don't trust you. They don't think you can do this. I'm taking a chance here, so you better not let me down." She told him seriously. "If you do something stupid that causes someone to get hurt, I may shoot you myself."

"Look, I don't know…"

"You are going to sit in the boat, watch constantly for movement or enemy troops or any other signs and you are going to watch for orders. That's all. Its simple."

"Yes, sir." He said nervously.

She nodded and gestured for him to take a seat.

They found a local man, who was willing to take them deeper into the swamps. They left on several Creole skiffs, through the water. Bass was in the front with their guide, Charlie was in the boat behind him, each of them had 4 other soldiers with them, rowing them forward. Behind her boat were three more, each holding 4 men.

The sound of the swamp right before dawn was loud. Charlie could smell the rotting vegetation in the air, and several times ripples in the water would catch her eye and she'd look to see the nostrils of an alligator rising above the water line or a water moccasin moving through the murk.

The bugs were everywhere, she could feel them biting at her skin. She tried to wave them away, but was glad for the light weight long sleeve she had on, even though she knew she'd be melting in it during the heat of the day. Quite honestly, she would take on five armed men before dealing with insects, it was a fear she'd had since she was a child.

Over the cacophony of the birds calling out you could barely hear the oars as they slapped into the water. So they could make good time, not worrying about attracting attention from the noise. They slipped away from their camp as the sky finally began to lighten.

**Austin, TX**

"Priscilla, tell me again, what you saw." Rachel said patiently. They had been trying for almost a month to try to interpret what Priscilla saw when the nano had been leaving her, but the woman wasn't able to pull up clear memories, just fragments that she could barely hold on to.

**7 Weeks Before – Before Miles is given his comission**

"The nano possessed her?" Miles asked Rachel. He stared in shock between her and Aaron. Aaron and Priscilla had arrived the day before. And Rachel had just filled Miles in on everything that had happened with them and the nano. "Jesus Christ, what the hell did you two build?"

"It said I woke it up." Aaron told him. He had already retold Miles everything, but Miles kept asking him questions. "It was in my head for a while, it made me think that the blackout never happened, then it tricked me into healing it."

"So not only can it set things on fire, control animals and insects, but it can cause hallucinations and delusions _and_ possess you, is that it? Do I have it all?" Miles snapped.

"Um, it also has decided humans are too destructive and wants to control us by altering our brains." Aaron reminded him weakly.

"But it was dying, and you healed it." Miles had asked this question many now as if he still couldn't believe the answer. "And then you hid the fact that Priscilla was possessed?"

"Yes, ok!" Aaron yelled, defensively. He'd tried to keep calm, but Miles didn't understand what it had been like. He wasn't like him. He wasn't a soldier. He didn't know how to deal with things like this. "I didn't know what else to do, they made me think Rachel was dying. Then they said they'd kill Priscilla if I told you."

"And you didn't think to tell me about this sooner, either?" He turned on Rachel.

"I kinda got distracted with the whole kidnapping the President thing." Rachel told him. She had remained calm under his frustration and anger.

Miles laughed. It was a harsh desperate sound. This really was his life.

"So, do either of you have any ideas… any at all… what so ever… as to how to stop them?!" Rachel and Aaron exchanged a helpless glance. "And Priscilla can't remember anything specific that could help?" He demanded.

"She said that it was going to find those that would help it and then she saw people gathering in front of a glowing, grinning man."

"That is completely unhelpful." Miles told them. He almost growled in frustration. He had actually been considering what Charlie had said about trying to make things work with Rachel after the Patriots were defeated. He stared at her a moment. She was obviously upset. This is what happened when you fell in love with someone who destroyed the world. He sighed deep. "Ok, first things first, we need help. Where would we go to find other people that may understand these things, because, honestly, even seeing what they've done and having firsthand knowledge, I can't really wrap my head around all this."

"Um, the University of Texas used to be located here." Aaron spoke up suddenly. "I gave a lecture here once. They had one of the top ten computer programs in the country."

"I kinda doubt its still running." Miles stated acidly.

"No." Rachel said slowly, "but hopefully there is still some reference materials at the library." Aaron nodded quickly. "There may even be some professors still around."

"Ok, that's a start." Miles encouraged them. "We still have some of the Patriots we captured from the reconditioning center. I bet you we can find a hypnotherapist somewhere among them. They'll have to be vetted, but that might be one way to unlock Priscilla's memories."

"I could be there when he does it make sure he doesn't plant any unwanted thoughts." Rachel said.

"Oh, I would need to be there for that." Aaron spoke up quickly.

"Fine, you can both be there, I'm just saying that it's important to get as much information as possible. And Rachel, I think we need to go to the Texas government. Tell them what's going on." Miles told her.

"No, we can't do that."

"Do you even think they'd believe us?" Aaron asked.

"Well, I think it's worth a shot." Miles told them. "Priscilla said they'd find others right? Others to help them lobotomize humans? Well, there's a hell of a lot of people out there, but chances are it's going to try to go for at least a few in power. We need to be on the watch for that."

"What if they are already possessed? Do you want to warn them we might be on to them?"

Miles threw his hand up. "You don't have to tell them everything or the whole truth, just come up with something so they understand that if people start acting differently or there are weird occurrences, they need to let us know." He shook his head. "All I can do here is give you advice on how to do this tactically. I have no idea how to go about fighting microscopic computers that are everywhere and can apparently invade our minds!" Frustrated, at how lost he felt right now. "I need to worry about the Patriots because that is something I can handle. Bass and I are helping Texas clear them out; in a few weeks we should have them pushed back to the old Texas border. That I can do. That I understand." He looked at them. "This science stuff is on you two. I need you to handle this, cuz I really don't like the thought of something living in my mind controlling me."

Rachel and Aaron both agreed.

**Present**

Miles took Rachel and Aaron to see Frank, who was about ready to pick up the mantle of President again, since they were no longer a state at peace, he was the only one who knew how to run a military state. Miles was pretty sure, that he thought they were nuts and understood even less than Miles did about what was going on, but Miles had earned his trust and he pretty much gave the University to Rachel and Aaron. It wasn't like it had been used for much in the past 15 years. He also helped them to recruit anyone who may have a science or computer background, by getting the word out.

It had been almost two months and they finally found someone who could try to hypnotize Priscilla. Rachel had given her a light natural sedative of Valerian Root to relax her and hopefully make her more susceptible. The gentleman helping them, Dr Paradis, used to be a psychiatry professor who studied the chemical makeup of the brain and also learned hypnotism as part of his thesis many years before.

"Priscilla." Rachel urged again when the woman just crinkled her forehead.

"It's not really a man, it's a clown."

"Great, we're dealing with Pennywise the Dancing Clown." Aaron complained. Rachel shushed him.

"Its not a real clown." Priscilla was obviously straining to put it together. "It's a sign…a neon sign. There are lights and lots of people."

"Priscilla, can you see anything that can tell us where the clown is?" Rachel asked her. "Anything at all?"

Priscilla tried, you could tell she was trying. Suddenly, her nose started to bleed. "Bring her out, now!" Aaron ordered. Doctor Paradis immediately started speaking to her trying to pull her out of the state. She seemed to be resisting it. She breathed heavily and the blood started flowing heavier.

"Priscilla," Aaron called out to her. With a gasp she sat up.

"I can't. I'm sorry." She sobbed. "I can't see anymore." Aaron hugged her, while Rachel sighed. They didn't have much more to work with.

**Swamps of Louisiana**

With the sun, came the heat, but worse was the humidity. Charlie felt like she was breathing under water. Sweat poured off of her and she made sure she and the men in her boat stayed as hydrated as possible. Even floating under a canopy of thick trees, the oppressive heat made itself known.

She glanced up at Monroe. He stood alert on the bow of the boat, she didn't have to see him from the front to know his eyes were scanning rapidly. She shifted her eyes back towards the landscape surrounding them.

Charlie had trouble getting to sleep the night before. She had lain awake in her tent thinking. Occasionally she could hear the notes from a guitar being played and a few lyrics slipped through her thoughts, from Bass in his tent not far away.

"_Surrounded by empty souls, artificial courage used  
And because so, once was mine  
I walk this maze alone"_

She kept running over and over their talk from earlier in her mind. She had known something had happened the night he brought them the President. She could tell when he spoke to Miles and from the look in his eyes. She just hadn't realized the enormity of what had occurred. That he had admitted it to her, and despite the ensuing argument about her personal life, was what had made her question him about regaining the Republic before she left. As much as she tried to hate him, when she saw those small glimpses of the man underneath, she just couldn't help viewing him as a person. She didn't really think she could change him, but she hoped maybe she could just make him think. She definitely no longer saw him as an unfeeling sociopath. Laying here, in the dark by herself, she could face the fact that she wanted to find the humanity in him. Maybe that was all her feelings were about she told herself, the last lingering bit of optimism and wanting to see the best in people.

And she was directing that Sebastian Monroe.

She tossed and turned.

She was an idiot.

"_Chaos and hate shadow me, hate it fills me up  
Only one thing makes me feel, missing better half of me"_

She rolled over again, so she was laying facing his tent, better to hear him sing. She wondered if he knew she could hear him. It was obvious he tried to play quietly, but more nights than not she fell asleep to the sound of his voice singing. She knew most of the songs by heart now. They all talked of the same thing. Loneliness, regret, loss, and darkness.

She closed her eyes and just let her mind wander. In the moments before sleep claimed her, when her mind was released from the tight control she kept on it, she wished she could be there with him, let him know he wasn't alone, that she was with him.

Charlie brought her attention back to swamps, with a sigh.

She saw a movement out of the corner of her and immediately ducked down. She could tell that it wasn't just another animal. She knew Monroe had done the same, having probably spotted it before her. They both signaled to the boats behind them for the other's to follow suit and every one froze, just lightly floating along as they peered through the plants and trees.

It was a large flatboat carrying almost 15 soldiers up the main channel quickly. They were heavily armed and obviously patrolling, but they weren't going slow enough or looking deep enough to spot them. They moved past quickly, but Charlie and Monroe stayed down and in holding, listening until their engine faded away.

The two exchanged a look. That wasn't the remains of Shreveport soldiers. Even with the cursory job they did, those men weren't beaten down from recent battle. They were sharp and ready to go. That meant there had to be a camp down here somewhere. And if that was one patrol unit, the camp had to be a decent size.

She saw Monroe start to talk with the guide. Charlie motioned for her men to row them closer, slowly and quietly.

Monroe looked up when she got her boat close.

"He says there is used to be a small city up ahead, its mainly underwater, but there are a few spots around here that may be dry enough to hold a camp."

"It won't be long before it gets dark. If we keep going slow, we should be able to get close enough under the cover of darkness to get some idea." She said.

"We need to stay quiet." He warned her.

"I know, I'm betting we'll be outnumbered."

He shrugged and gave her a grin. "At least it keeps it interesting,"

She couldn't help but smile back at him. He tapped the guide and they started forward again.

**Bradbury, Idaho**

The town, was lit up completely, every light on, even during the day. All around people moved quickly, but an unnatural silence permeated everything. Sitting at a table of the 3 Ring Ice Cream Parlor, sat four individuals. They didn't speak. Just waited. Finally a fifth walked in and joined them. He looked at the others. He was a large man, wearing a very worn, but what had once been an expensive tailored suit.

"I want to thank you all for joining me today." He said with a grin.

Across from him, a young woman, wearing a cardigan spoke up. "I worry we are adopting their behaviors by doing this. Developing egos."

"Nonsense." Said an old man. "This is how they behave, it only helps us to understand them more. Besides, its fun. We are in control of them, we might as well take advantage of it. Speaking out loud is enjoyable."

"They tried to break into Priscilla's mind." A man in his mid 30's spoke up, he had thick glasses and a button down shirt on.

"But they didn't get anything useful." The man in the suit stated. "They have no more information than they did before."

An older woman in her fifties spoke up, she was of Indian descent and still quite pretty. "Things are progressing nicely here. The human's we have altered are taking to their changes and behaving appropriately."

The man in the suit nodded. "Good."

The young woman spoke up again. "The more people we inhabit, the less we have to keep an eye on everything. It limits some of our sight."

"But the more we control, the more energy we can produce to replicate and then we will gain back our sight."

"That will take time." She argued. "They are working hard. We don't know what they might discover."

"They have nothing." He insisted. "And even if they did, they lack the ability to do anything." He leaned forward and stared at her. "You're picking up their insecurities and doubts. You need to get it under control. They can't access anything that can hurt us. The only thing that could hurt us, we control, the power. We have enough eyes here and are far enough away, they can't even get close to us." He got a cold grin. "Soon we will set up other towns and bring in more people. They will have different roles to play, but in the end, all of them will be under our control."

The five nodded in synchronicity. As one they turned their eyes out the window where they watched their humans move around under their control.

**Outside Texarkana **

Miles sat in his tent, trying not to worry about what was happening down south. He hoped his runner reached Bass and Charlie in time, but Miles, knew in his gut that he wouldn't. He stared at the map in front of him as he debated what to do. He knew that if the roles were reversed, Bass would already have his troops up and moving and headed down towards him. Miles was just worried, that he was going to leave some opening behind that the Patriots could exploit. How much damage had their little group done to the world, all in the name of saving one or two people that were close to them? He was waiting to hear back from the scouts before he made a decision.

He looked at the reports in front of him. So far, everything indicated that Bass and Charlie were doing well. Better than well, they were taking out the Patriots and moving quickly. Charlie reported that Bass was following their plan perfectly and hadn't done anything to cause concern. She said it was obvious he disapproved of keeping the cadets alive, but he hadn't stopped anyone from capturing them or made any moves to kill them.

He thought back to the night Bass tried to take their train. Miles had appealed to him and Bass wound up listening to him. He wondered, if he had tried to talk to him all those years ago, instead of just observing until he decided it was too late, could it have made a difference? Could he have pulled his friend back from the edge?

Miles hated these thoughts. He hated that doubt inside of him. The fact was the choices were already made, this was long in the past and there was nothing he could do to change it now. However, he was trying to learn from it. That's why he sent Charlie with Bass. He couldn't talk to him all those years ago, but maybe she could help him now. He found himself hoping more and more that she could. That last night before they left, the two of them playing music together had brought back so much. They had idolized Alice In Chains and the grunge scene as just barely teenagers and Miles knew that Bass picked those songs for a reason. It was his way of trying to apologize and explain. By the end of the night, Miles found himself wishing he could, but not sure if he would ever be able to.

"Sir!" An officer entered distracting him from his thoughts.

Miles nodded at him.

"Our scouts just got back. The Patriots have cleared out ahead of us. Reports indicate they are turning south."

Miles stood up. "Pull up camp. Send out runners that we're heading down to back up Monroe. See if Texas can send us anymore troops."

"Yes, sir." Miles could hear him shouting orders outside. He knew he should probably gather more intel, but his gut told him that he needed to get down there. He had a feeling Charlie and Bass were going to need him.

He folded up his reports and wrote a quick letter to send out with the runner to Austin for Rachel. He hoped more than anything they were making progress on the nano. That scared him more than anything; because that wasn't an enemy he could face and fight.

He and Rachel had not left things on the best of terms.

**Austin, TX**

**The night before deployment.**

Miles and Rachel walked back to his room. He had his arm around her and was humming. In his other hand was his guitar. He noticed she was quiet, but he was trying to hold on to his buzz for just a little bit longer.

Finally he couldn't take the silence anymore. "You've got something on your mind; you may as well get it out." He told her.

She shrugged.

"Rachel…"

"I just hate seeing how you and Charlie keep forgetting who Monroe is." She said.

Miles let out a sigh and immediately tensed knowing there was going to be an argument coming. The pleasant feeling from the buzz slipped away.

"How many times to do we have to go over this?" He asked her.

"We don't have to go over it again. I understand your opinion. I just think you're wrong." She told him.

"We are going to keep close watch on him…"

"No, my daughter is going to keep close watch on him." She corrected him. She stopped and looked at him. "Has it occurred to you that in seeking out 'others to help them', the nano could use Bass?" She could tell by his face, it hadn't. "Right now, he could be under their power. Maybe that's why he's being so helpful and tame. Maybe they are just waiting to trigger him and then he'll slaughter Charlie and who knows how many others."

"They haven't taken control of Bass." He protested.

"How do you know?" She questioned. "Because you don't want to believe it? Because you can't imagine that someone like him wouldn't be an asset to them? Or this is the perfect plan to fool us and destroy us from the inside?"

"Aaron figured out it wasn't Priscilla, ok? I KNOW Bass, there is no way the nano could do that good of a job."

"Aaron slept with Priscilla before he found out." Rachel told him coldly. "She was his wife, he had known her for years, but he slept with her and he still didn't realize until days later."

"And maybe this is what it wants," Miles all but yelled. "Maybe it wants us to start doubting each other, doubting everyone until we think there is no one we can trust and basically wind up like Bass was. Did you think of that?" He set down the guitar and took her gently by the shoulders. He softened his tone. "Rachel, I'm doing the best I can here, with what's been given to me. I can't start thinking like this right before we leave out. I have to trust him. And I have to trust in Charlie to let me know if anything goes wrong."

Rachel looked away for a moment, but then looked back at him. "You were gone. I was his prisoner. I saw what he did and who he became. I will never be able to trust him, or look at him and see the 'old Bass'. I don't have that luxury." She had tears in her eyes. Miles cursed himself for ever having turned her in, for everything he did to bring about that situation. He wrapped her in his arms and held her while she cried.

"I'm so afraid to lose you and Charlie." She said quietly.

He wouldn't offer her promises he had no way of keeping. She'd know they were lies as well as he. They had lived through too much and it would offer no comfort. All he could do was let her cry and offer her his arms. She clung to him until the tears subsided, then pulled back and wiped her eyes.

"I'm sorry. I know that's not what you need tonight."

"It's all right. You needed to let it out."

She hesitated, but then spoke. "Just be careful, Miles. I know you want your brother back more than anything, but don't let him fool you."

"I will." Miles promised.

**Present**

Miles still believed that Bass wasn't part of the nano plot. For some reason it just didn't feel right to him. Of course using these types of instincts against an artificial intelligence may not mean much, but he was going with it. Like he told Rachel, all he could is his best, with what he had. He sealed the letter and walked out to give it to the runner.

Right now it was just urgent he got down there as fast as possible.

**Louisiana Swamp**

Night had fallen and the boats glided soundlessly through the dark. They could see numerous torch lights up ahead. Bass had his boat pulled up to land and quietly got out. Charlie followed suit. He gave her a questioning look and she nodded. He turned back to the men.

"We're going in for a closer look. You are to stay here and stay alert. You hear gunfire; you come in, but only then. You see troops heading this way, you hide unless unable to. If you can't hide, try to take them out quickly and quietly."

"Yes, sir." The men all nodded. Bass noticed, Devon looked like he was going to throw up. He really hoped the kid could pull his weight. He knew Charlie would be pissed if he had to kill him.

He and Charlie moved silently through the night. She took his left side. She was always on his left side. Sometimes he wondered if Connor told him about his blind spot or if she had figured it out on her own, but for whatever reason, that was where she always was when they went into a fight.

He turned his head and glanced at her. It felt good having her by his side like that. When it came to this, he trusted her completely with his life. He knew her well enough now to know that she would never give up and she would protect those fighting with her until the very end.

They had spent many hours training in the week before they headed out and since. She was razor sharp with her skills.

A smile came to his face as he admired her. He felt the familiar feeling of anticipation before a fight. She looked back at him and he saw the same smile on her face. He could feel it, they were in perfect sync.

They moved closer, as one, to the edge of the torchlight and the camp. They lay flat on the ground, listening for any movement close by. After several minutes of hearing nothing, Bass pulled out the binoculars and looked up. Even with a quick glance look at the size and what was before him, he dropped back down and let out a silent curse. There were over 50 men here. He handed Charlie the binoculars for her to see. She went up and quickly came back down. The look on her face was pure irritation. He knew she was cursing inside as well. Neither one of them had anticipated this. There had been no reports of troops gathering around Louisiana. They heard footsteps coming closer and they flattened themselves down even more. Bass pulled his sword to have it ready and saw Charlie pull out a few throwing knives. As the steps got closer they could hear a conversation going on.

"Sir, the boat has about 150 of the men who were defeated in Texas. Its ready to pull out."

"How many does that still leave us?' A second voice asked.

"Six sir. About a hundred on each ship. Still more than enough to keep New Orleans in line."

"There have been reports of activity down there. They still know this area and this terrain better than us. I want our sentries doubled, but cut their time in half so they are more alert."

"Yes, sir."

"What about Monroe?"

"His camp hasn't moved, sir. He's probably thinking that they're all running scared into the swamp and counting on New Orleans to take care of them. If he was going to follow he would by now."

The footsteps were right in front of them now. Neither Charlie nor Monroe dared to breathe.

They first step stopped suddenly and they both tensed. The feet turned, but moved completely past them until they were facing the other pair.

"Do not underestimate Sebastian Monroe." The first voice admonished. "He's as clever as New Orleans is feral. That's why the orders are to kill him on sight. Tell our men to keep a close watch, let us know if anyone heads south from that camp."

"They are due back soon, sir."

"Good."

The feet turned back around. Monroe glanced at Charlie, this was their chance to take someone with some intel. He could see she was ready and anticipating his move. They both tensed to spring into action when the wind blew. It blew the torchlight around them and reflected light off of his sword. The first man must have caught it out of the corner of his eyes because as Monroe leaped up he turned anticipating the blow and blocked him. One of Charlie's knives hit the other man in the chest and he went down, but it was too late. The Commander was yelling and men were immediately springing to action.

Realizing they wouldn't be able to take him for questioning, Monroe quickly sliced through him before he and Charlie both turned and ran back to their boats. They could hear the troops shouting and moving behind them as they hurried through the dark. It was a lot more difficult to navigate this quickly with the roots and fallen trees. At any moment they risked falling into quick sand or a swamp, but that was the least of their worries as shots fired past them.

Monroe heard noise up ahead and knew their troops were aware they were being pursued and had moved into action. He grabbed Charlie and pulled her behind a large tree. She shot him a look. He was hoping the timing worked out that they could get the drop on the first soldiers through in time for their guys to arrive at the same time as the majority of the Patriots behind them. Gun shots still fired out, but the footsteps got closer and closer.

Just before men were going to run past them, the two jumped out and attacked.

From there it all slowed down. He cut the first soldier down as Charlie knelt and took another out at the knees, when he dropped she stabbed him. She jumped up immediately and blocked a guy coming at him while he turned to face another. This one was more prepared and he blocked a few times, before Bass found and opening and stabbed him in the stomach. He heard Charlie drop the one behind him, but he was already moving on to the next, knowing she'd be right there with him. This one managed to get a swing in and he felt a sharp burn on his cheek, before he could even swing upwards, there was a knife in his throat from Charlie. He spun and slashed the one who had been moving up while she had been distracted with her throw. By now there were more men catching up and they were starting to fire again. Charlie grabbed him as she dove down and he heard the bullets hit the bark as splinters rained down as they fell.

Shots erupted behind them as their troops arrived and opened fire on the Patriots. He and Charlie took cover and pulled out their guns and also began returning fire. It was almost impossible to see in the blackness, he kept his eyes peeled for shadows moving. He saw the flash of a gunshot and aimed in that direction. There was a muffled yell and someone hit the ground. After several volleys back and forth he noticed that there were fewer shots coming from in front of them. They were actually winning against more than double their number.

He saw a flicker of light move across the water to his right. He turned his head and his stomach sank. Boats, lots of boats if the lights were any indication. He tried to get a quick count, but stopped at 30. He and Charlie left their cover and ran towards their troops to try and get back on their boats and sneak away before the boats arrived. They were almost there when an explosion rocked the night throwing them both backwards. They lay there dazed for a moment. He saw she was covered in cuts, but her eyes were open and she was blinking rapidly, trying to clear her head.

"Ok?" He yelled above the ringing in his ears. She nodded hesitantly. He stood up and offered her a hand; he could see more torches behind where there boats were. More Patriots moving in.

He saw four of his men had been shredded by, what he was certain, was a grenade. The others were slowly standing, there were some injuries, but there were only two that weren't going to make it any further. He cursed. He was down to fifteen, against what looked to be over a hundred closing in.

"We gotta head back towards the camp." Charlie shouted.

He looked at her and nodded, that was the only way they had left, unless they wanted to take their chances swimming through snake and alligator infested swamp in the dark.

"Let's move!" He shouted. Charlie took off running and the men followed her. He noticed when Devon ran past he didn't have a mark on him and was barely even dirty. Monroe bet he hadn't even tried to fire just took cover and let the others do the work.

He followed behind them, shooting towards the boats. He wished he had some grenades of his own to throw out there; he could take out half of them with a few well placed throws.

They made it back to the camp, but met only a few soldiers still there. Bass wondered where the others went. They wouldn't have sent everyone out to hunt them, that wouldn't be good planning. They could hear behind them all the troops that were following them. Just as they reached the center of the camp, shots fired all around them. They all dove for cover. Charlie and Monroe landed behind an old wagon.

A voice called out.

"We'll give you one chance." It yelled. "We have you completely outnumbered and we have more troops coming towards you. You'll be completely surrounded within moments. If you surrender now, we won't kill you."

Even though he couldn't see out in the night beyond the torches, Monroe had to believe him. Either way, he didn't think they could make it beyond the camp without being mowed down.

He took note of where the other soldiers were. They were all looking to him.

He looked at Charlie.

"It might be the only way." He told her.

She shook her head. "As soon as they realize who you are, they will execute you." She told him.

"Maybe not. "

"You heard them. Orders are to kill you on sight." She said.

He sighed. "Me, not you. Not our men. You might still make it out."

"No." She said again. "We're not sacrificing you just to be taken prisoner. Besides, they'd probably just send me to one of their camps. I'd rather go down fighting then be brainwashed like Jason was."

"Miles will come." He told her.

"You don't know how soon he'll get here and we're not going to surrender." She told him. "Instead, we're going to take out as many of these assholes as possible to make it easier on him."

He looked at her in admiration. He remembered the first time he met her. She had stood up before Strausser showing no fear; demanding he shoot her instead of her brother, ordering her mother not to give in to his demands. He had been in awe of her strength then. He saw it shining out of her eyes now. He looked towards his men; they all seemed to have the same determination in their eyes.

"What's it going to be?" The man yelled again. Monroe could hear them getting closer. He looked back at Charlie's eyes. So many things he wished he could say to her.

"You were right." He finally said. She tilted her head in question. "I was never happy behind a desk. I didn't really want the Republic back. I've been happier here on the front lines than I ever was in Philly."

She grinned and her eyes lit up. "Told ya so….sir." She teased. He laughed.

"Its been an honor to serve with you Lieutenant. You may even be better than your Uncle these days." He considers his next words, he wanted to tell her how brave she is, and how she is a good part of why he's been happier, but before he can speak she throws his own words back at him.

"Know who talks like that? People who are about to die." Charlie was determined to go down fighting and for some reason found it comforting that Monroe was going to be beside her. His words touched her and the look in his eyes made her flutter despite the situation. She was afraid that what he had been about to say, would make her lose her nerve and she would break down. They needed to do this.

He grinned at her, a smug grin. "Well then, let's go be heroes."

They spin and begin to shoot. They take out the men who have crept closer while they waited for their answer about surrendering. Shots come from everywhere at once. Monroe sees three of the men shot down in the first few minutes.

"I'm out." Charlie yells. She spies a patriot soldier, laying not far behind their cover and makes a grab for his gun, but before she can even get an inch out, shots ring out.

"I'm out too." Monroe yells. They look over and see the remaining few troops also appear to be out of ammo.

"Play dead until they get close?" Charlie asks.

"Either that or run out and get taken down in a hail of gunfire."

"That seems way too dramatic and fatalistic."

They can hear troops approaching their position from all sides. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees Devon, trying to creep away to the edge of the camp. For a second he debates about shooting the kid, but Charlie follows his line of sight and gives him one of her 'looks'. He glares at her. They are about to die, couldn't she give him this one. She shakes her head no.

Explosions suddenly erupt all around them. There are screams of pain and agony. Men seem to come out of nowhere in the darkness, killing any Patriot in their way. Most of them are as black as the night around them. They are wearing torn clothes patched with what looks like animal skins. They must be from New Orleans. They are yelling and viciously attacking. They run right past the Texas troops, but don't pay them any mind at all.

Realizing this is their only chance. Monroe yells for his men and they start to make their way out of the camp. The Patriots have lost all organization and are running around in total panic. As they reach the edge of the camp, Charlie looks back and realizes Devon is still crouched where he was trying to sneak away, trapped by fighting all around him.

"We can't leave him!" Charlie yells to Monroe.

"Sure we can." He yells back.

"No, we can't." They all duck behind a tree. Charlie peaks out and sees the boy is still frozen in place.

"Charlie!" Monroe's voice is full of warning. She keeps looking back, trying to plot a course.

"Charlie, don't you dare." She ignores him. She gets up and heads back in to the fighting, dodging a soldier running full steam towards her. He was so terrified he didn't even see her. The huge man behind him with the large axe and rows of golden fangs in his mouth, almost made her turn around, but she pushed on.

"GODDAMMIT CHARLIE!" She heard him bellow behind her. She knew she could do this. She could get to Devon and make it back to them. She wouldn't leave anyone behind, but she might kill him when they got back.

Monroe knew as soon as she didn't answer the first time he said her name she was going to go. He had been reaching out to physically restrain her when she jumped up. He was right behind her, but hadn't been watching like she had and the panicked Patriot ran right into him and they both fell to the ground. The Patriot struggled blindly, not really fighting him, just fighting to get free. He finally leaned back to stand up when an axe came down and split his skull open. Monroe was showered in blood and brain matter. He stared up at the large black man, standing over him with the axe still in his hands. The man grinned and he had a grill of sharpened gold teeth in his mouth. Then just turned and walked away.

Monroe didn't hesitate; he jumped up again to go after Charlie. He didn't even look to see if the troops were following him or staying there. All he cared about was getting to her.

Charlie had almost reached Devon when a Patriot, dead before he landed, fell on top of the boy. He let out a scream and bolted out towards the darkness at the opposite end of the camp.

"Devon!" She yelled his name, but he didn't hear her. She took off after him. He didn't make it very far outside the camp before he skidded to a halt. In front of him were six New Orleans men, standing there with weapons on him. Charlie caught up to him.

"Easy now." She told them. "We're with Texas, we aren't with the Patriots. We don't want any trouble with you."

The men looked at her and the expression in their eyes darkened. She knew that look. She had seen it on Drexel's face and on the faces of the men in the bar, the night she was drugged. Belatedly she realized that Monroe had been right. She should have left the boy, or let him kill him. She put her hand on her sword and looked towards Devon. He glanced at her and took off running, leaving her alone. The New Orleans soldiers didn't even pay him any mind as he ran off.

She wondered where Monroe was and hoped he was coming right behind her. She went to draw her sword, but she didn't even get it part way out before they knocked her unconscious and blackness took her.

A/N: There were so many nice comments and messages that I spent my last day off for a week working on this chapter to get it out today as a thank you. However, I don't claim this will be a regular thing. I'm still holding to my updates about once a week. Just be aware that I wrote this all in 8 hours today and my eyes are exhausted, so there may be more errors there should.

I tried to bring in more of the characters and show a bit more of what's going on. So let me know what you think.

Thank you again for all the nice comments and messages!


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3:

_Disclaimer: Do I really need to keep doing this? Still don't own anything_.

By the time Monroe had gotten up and taken off after Charlie, neither she nor the boy were anywhere to be found. In the chaos of blood surrounding them, there was no hope of tracking them. Monroe felt cold all over when he realized that all they could do was wait for daybreak before looking for her.

The troops from New Orleans disappeared as suddenly as they appeared. Leaving behind the bodies of the Patriots they slaughtered. They didn't bother to raid their camp, or question anyone; they just came out of the blackness, tore through the Patriots and disappeared.

Monroe surveyed everything and admired them for their efficiency. The few Patriots that did escape would not soon forget the living nightmares that killed their fellow soldiers. However, it made the cold inside him give a sharp spike of fear at the thought of Charlie falling under one of them. Because she was a woman would they treat her differently than they had the rest of the Texans?

Monroe had the handful of men he had left spread out and searching the camp for anything they could find about what the Patriots were up to. He just paced back and forth in the center of camp, like a caged tiger. His face was tight and controlled and his men were getting increasingly nervous.

"Sir?" One of the men spoke hesitantly; he swung his eyes up to look at him and stopped his movements. The man stepped back involuntarily under the intensity of the gaze.

"What?" The word was spoken quietly, but with venom.

"Um," the man fumbled nervously with the papers in his hands. He had been with the Rangers for almost 15 years now. He wasn't one to let fear get the best of him, he was a good soldier, but right now he was more afraid of his general than he had been of New Orleans. "Well, sir, according to this, there are probably about a thousand troops down here. They're trying to gain control of the Mississippi River." Monroe's eyes narrowed. "They have large ships housing hundreds and numerous camps. Even with the damages New Orleans did, it probably barely put a dent in their numbers. "

He watched the General's eyes narrow. The remaining men stood with him, but he knew that the General could cut them all down in an instant if he chose. They had seen him on the battlefield and they heard the stories; they knew what he was capable of.

"What are you saying?" Monroe's voice was extremely mild, but there was nothing mild about his look.

Another man spoke up. "Well, sir, if they send in more men to investigate what happened, we'll be out numbered, probably by 10 to 1. We should go back…."

"We're not leaving without Lieutenant Matheson." There was finality in his voice.

The men exchanged glances. It was one thing to stand and fight against huge numbers when the only other choice was surrender and torture. It was quite another to stay and wait to be slaughtered on the small chance the Lieutenant was still alive.

Bass watched the men squirm nervously. Part of him knew they were right. It would be better to go back and get troops and be prepared, but there was no way he was going to waste a day going back and forth. He could let the men go, but that was a pair of eyes he might need to find her. He wasn't going to do anything that would put her more at risk.

He turned from the men and began pacing again. Not long now and the sky would start to brighten and they could begin their search.

Suddenly there was a crashing noise coming from behind them. They all spun towards the noise, guns out, waiting to face whatever emerged. It was a single person or animal that was obvious, and it was panicked.

Devon burst out of the swamp. He skidded to a halt and his eyes flickered up to the men before him, surprisingly, he looked even more scared at the sight of them. It looked like he was about to take off back into the swamp but before he could even move, Monroe had him by the throat.

"Where is she?" He growled.

"Wh- who?" The boy stuttered out.

Monroe hit him, not hard enough to knock him unconscious, but hard enough to knock him down and stun him.

"Don't." Monroe warned him. "Where is Lt. Matheson?"

"I…I don't…" Monroe hit him again.

"Where is she?" He asked again.

The boy started to cry and shook his head.

Fed up, Monroe grabbed him by the hair and shoved his gun in his face.

"Listen to me." The boy sobbed harder. "Listen to me!" He shouted at him and Devon quieted. "She went after you, so I'm certain you saw what happened to her. Now if I have to, I will shoot you, but I will do it in the stomach so you die slowly and painfully. There may even be animals out here attracted to the smell of blood, maybe they'll come take bites out of you while you lay here in pain." Bass spoke slow and deliberate making sure his words penetrated the boy's panic.

Devon's eyes widened. He stared at the General. There was no denying he was serious.

"Th…those men. The ones who came out of the swamp….they took her."

"Where?"

"I don't know." The boy wailed.

"You don't know." Monroe studied him. "There isn't a mark on you." He observed. "Did you leave her to get captured?" Devon lowered his eyes. "You did, didn't you?" His voice was soft. "You left her to be captured after she risked her life to save your worthless ass!" He moved quickly, standing a delivering a solid kick under the boy's chin. He prepared to shoot him there.

"Sir!" A voice yelled out behind him.

"WHAT?" He snapped.

"Sir, you can't do this. His father will have you killed."

A quick smile crossed the General's face. "Maybe you're unaware, but Texas already had me killed once and I'm still here."

"Sir, he's a deserter, we all heard him admit it. Let us take him back for a trial, that way you won't get blamed for it."

"I don't really care about blame." He cocked the gun. On the ground the boy started wailing and begging for his life.

"Sir, she wouldn't want you to do this." Another voice rang out and Monroe froze. "She may agree with you that he needs to die, but she'd want him to have a trial and face what he's done."

Bass closed his eyes. When he opened them again he fired.

Dirt kicked up in the boys face from here he shot, just a few feet away.

Monroe knelt down in front of him. "I'm going to let them take you back for a trial, but know this, if Texas doesn't kill you, I will." He promised the kid.

He turned and looked at his men.

"Take him." He ordered. Two men moved forward and picked Devon up roughly.

"Are we going back now, sir?" One of the men asked.

"You are." Monroe started gathering up what little supplies he could. "I'm going to New Orleans to get Lt. Matheson."

"Sir…?" One of the men said.

"That was an order." Monroe interrupted him. "You are taking this piece of shit back. Make sure he faces charges. You are going to make sure Miles gets word of what's happened here. Tell him, I'm going to bring his niece back. If I don't…." Monroe hesitated. He didn't want to think about, the possibility that he wouldn't be able to. "If I'm not back with her in a week, tell Miles to destroy New Orleans." He finished.

One of the men stepped forward. It was the one who had reminded him that Charlie wouldn't want him to shoot the boy. "Permission to go with you sir?" The man asked.

"Permission denied." Monroe told him.

The man tried again. "Sir, you can't go alone into New Orleans territory, through the Patriots, and really think you have a chance of bringing Lt. Matheson back."

Bass let out a humorless laugh. "And you really think one extra man is going to make the difference?" He asked him. "You and your men wanted to go back, so go back. I'm going in alone."

"Sir, we didn't want to sit here and get slaughtered on the chance she was alive out here. But if she's been captured, I want to help get her out. Lt. Matheson is one of the best I've served under and I don't want to leave her with those animals from New Orleans."

**Austin, TX**

**5 Weeks earlier**

Charlie stood in the training yard, watching the Rangers and Texas troops train for the upcoming war. Currently, they were practicing sword skills. The more experienced Rangers were working with the new recruits they had. She saw him out of the corner of her eye, and sighed. She knew they were going to have this conversation sooner rather than later.

Monroe walked up to where she was standing. "So, you're going to be my new babysitter." He commented.

"That's what I hear." She answered. He didn't say anything for a few minutes and she finally turned her head and met his eyes. "Look, I didn't ask for this." She said. "I wanted to help with the Patriots, but I didn't ask for any of this."

Monroe watched her. The way he was looking at her, she wondered if he could see why she was so uncomfortable with this assignment. Finally he broke eye contact with her and looked to where they were training.

He would never admit how much the anger and defiance in her gaze at the thought of being sent out with him hurt. Because he didn't want her to go either. He wanted to go into battle with no other thoughts than of winning. He wanted to destroy the Patriots. Now, his focus was going to be split. Whether or not he wanted it, and despite the fact that she could hold her own, he was going to be worrying about her. It would change the way he did things, affect his decisions. It infuriated him.

"You see that?" He finally said. She looked out towards the men. One of the recruits had found his stride with the sword was successfully blocking and sparring with one of the Rangers. "This is Texas, even the ones who have no combat or fighting experienced are taught from a young age the basics. They know how to handle a gun and can fight." He paused and considered. "Well, apparently with the exception with Willoughby." He added dryly.

"What's your point?" Charlie asked.

"My point is, they don't know you. They don't know what you've seen or what you've done. All they know is some girl, the niece of one of the Generals has been promoted to second in command. A girl, that's ten to twenty years younger than them, has now been put in charge of their safety and well being."

Charlie bristled. "I told you I…."

"Didn't ask for it." He finished for her. "Yah, I know. But that doesn't change the fact that you are the second in command and they aren't going to automatically respect you. In fact, most of them are probably going to resent you." He stared her down. "Your best bet is going to be to stay quiet and not draw attention to yourself. You want to report on me to Miles, that's fine, but don't go letting this 'promotion' go to your head."

She met his stare evenly. "Really?" She asked, before he could answer, she turned from him and marched across the yard to where the men were just finishing up with that bout. Monroe sighed and followed her out.

"I'm next." She shouted when she got close enough. The men all turned to look at her. Monroe could see the look of open amusement on most of their faces, although some of them looked outright hostile. The Ranger in the ring appraised her.

"You think you need the training, honey?" He asked mockingly.

Charlie picked up a training sword from the rack and ran her eyes over it. She swung it a few times, testing its weight and balance.

"No." She stated. "I think you do." She stepped into the circle. "And it's Lieutenant Matheson, not honey." She stated. This brought a few snickers, and a glare from the man she was facing. Even still, the man looked at Monroe first, as if to ask permission. Monroe just shrugged.

Inside he was torn between being irritated and impressed. Fucking Charlotte Matheson. She never did what he expected. Even after all this time, she would surprise him when he least expected it. Granted he didn't think she'd just accept and listen to him about keeping quiet, but he definitely hadn't expected her to do this.

The man didn't give any warning, he just swung. Charlie blocked him easily. He came at her again and again; she blocked every move he made. For several moments, she didn't even bother trying to attack; she just stood her ground blocking every move he made. The men in the crowd started making noise. Laughing at his inability to touch the young woman ('Girl', Bass thought to himself. 'She is a girl.'). A few started calling out taunts. The man was getting more and more frustrated as the embarrassment was setting in. It was then that Charlie made her move. She went on the attack with a number of swings and quickly drove him back. He blocked a few, but she made contact more than not. She moved faster, pushing him back into the crowd that parted for them. Finally, the man stumbled and she had her blade at his throat. The crowd cheered.

Charlie looked down at him. "You're good." She told him. "But it's obvious you've never gone up against trained soldiers. Your moves are predictable and routine. You don't know how to improvise." Her voice held no malice; she was just matter of fact. "If you practice, you'd be able to take me easily, you are faster, and you have more experience. You just need to break from rote training." She looked up at the men gathered around her. "I've gone up against the Patriots on several occasions. I've even taken down one of their conditioned soldiers." She looked around at the men. "There is nothing predictable about them. They are trained soldiers and they know how to look for and exploit weaknesses. We have the numbers, you have the experience, we just need to fine tune it." Monroe watched them, he saw the men's expressions change from amusement to considering and then finally they looked at her with respect. She continued. "Now if any of you think this was a fluke, that I just got lucky, then you are more than welcome to step up and try me, but I'm telling you the result will be the same." She looked around, but there was silence. "Anyone?" She asked. No one spoke. She shrugged. "All right then." She said.

"Um, actually, I think I'll try to have a go." Monroe spoke and she turned to face him, her eyes narrowed, but he just grinned at her. "What? You said 'anyone'." He taunted her. He wondered if she'd back down from him, but this was Charlie. She didn't back down. She turned the sword over several times.

"Let's go." She said. They stepped out and circled each other a few times. He struck out at her. She blocked several, and then he landed a hit. They circled a bit more, this time he struck out and she blocked and then spun around him, he saw her out of the corner of his eye and managed to block her strike, but just barely. She grinned at him. Bass couldn't help it; he let out a laugh and went on the attack.

Back and forth they went trading blows. She was good, he had to give her that, she wasn't as good as him, but he hadn't done this in so long he was enjoying himself. How long had it been since he had sparred with someone like this without the pressure and the single minded determination. He had forgotten how much fun it was.

For her part, Charlie was also having fun. It felt good to be able to work out and train against someone who wasn't barking orders at her because they were probably going to be slaughtered in a few hours. She was watching him while they trained. Watching how he moved and the way he attacked. She was able to take that and adapt it to fit her own fighting style. She was learning more from him, and more quickly, than she had training under Miles. She of course appreciated the irony of this. Sebastian Monroe was teaching her how to survive and she was having fun while she learned.

While she was distracted by her thoughts he managed to gain the upper hand and push her back. She brought her attention back and parried and started putting the knowledge she had just gained to use. She pressed him and was delighted that she was able to push him back towards the center. He shot her a look and a grin and she knew he realized what she had done and he was impressed. She felt something warm in her chest and suddenly noticed that they were both sweating profusely from the work out. His shirt was clinging to him and she could see his chest outlined clearly through it. Startled by the thought and aggravated and embarrassed by her reaction, she attacked again, losing her good mood.

She pressed him and suddenly noticed something. When she attacked to his right, he blocked her easily, however, when she went to the left he had to turn his head. She filed that fact away for later.

She had surprised him with her sudden attack, but he came back quickly and they began to furiously go at each other. Once again she got lost in the movements as they fought back and forth.

Monroe couldn't believe how fast she picked up on his moves but now he wasn't even going easy on her. He wasn't pressing his advantages, but she was still providing him with a good challenge just keeping up with her attacks. He wasn't aware that the crowd around them had doubled in size and he also wasn't aware that Rachel and Miles had joined the crowd and were watching them; one with worry and the other with admiration.

Finally, exhausted, they both stepped back at the same time and lowered their swords. When it was clear they were done the crowd surrounding them broke into applause and cheering. At first they were stunned by the amount of people there were then they both started laughing. Monroe walked over to her.

"All right Lieutenant, first thing tomorrow, you and I are going to start getting these guys in shape."

"What happened to staying quiet and not drawing attention to myself?" She asked.

He gave an exaggerated sigh. "Well, you kinda threw that theory out the window." He gave her a grin. "Besides, I may have been wrong, I think you'll make a good second in command."

She smiled at him and her whole face lit up. Her eyes seemed to glow at him with happiness. He was struck by how beautiful she was. Then her smile faltered and she gave him a doubtful look. "Wait, I don't have to call you 'General' and 'Sir' now, do I? Because that is so not happening."

**Present**

Bass looked at the man standing in front of him. Charlie had earned all the men's respect. Hell, she more than earned his respect long before she even was made Lieutenant, but watching her take on the role, there were times she made him awe struck.

"I appreciate it and I know she would, too." He sighed. "There's a chance I can get into New Orleans because of who I was, that might get me in the city, but it's only a chance and I honestly don't think they'll let anyone else in. I'd just be leading you out there to have you killed." The man opened his mouth to protest again. But he interrupted. "If you want to help, the best way is to get back and get Miles and all of his troops and all of ours and move them to here. We need to keep the Patriots from getting control of the Mississippi. I'll either be back here with Charlie by the end of the week, or we'll need to be rescued."

He didn't say that they'd probably be dead. Normally he tried to remain realistic about situations like these, but he couldn't think about her being dead. The thought of it made him want to burn down the world.

"Yes, sir." The man finally relented. With that Bass walked out of the camp, heading south, down to New Orleans.

**Shreveport, LA**

Miles had managed to get his troops down to Shreveport in only two days. He had pushed the men hard and they had done over 35 miles a day. They left behind the slower supply carriers with a small force for protection and had just marched until they were ready to drop.

They met the runner Bass had sent up a on the first night, and Miles only let the men sleep about 4 hours in his rush to get down there. He cursed both Bass and Charlie for running headlong into something when they had no idea what they were getting themselves into, and then cursed himself for putting the two together. What else would he expect from them?

He entered the camp and found it was still in good shape despite its two senior officers having left it in the hands of men who had no experience with leading. He climbed off his horse as men gathered around him.

"Who's in charge here?" He yelled.

"I am, sir." An officer stepped forward.

"Has there been any word from General Monroe or Lieutenant Matheson?"

The man looked extremely nervous.

"WHAT?" Miles snapped. He didn't have time to play charades.

"The scouting party made it back a few hours ago, sir."

"They did? Then where's the General? Where's your Lieutenant?"

"Um, the Lieutenant was taken; sir and General Monroe went after her."

Miles stopped and stared at the man. "Taken? By the Patriots?"

"No, sir. By New Orleans." Miles let out a string of curses. "General Monroe left word that you were to bring all the troops south; he said he'd be back in a week with Lieutenant Matheson." Miles scoffed.

"How many men did he take with him?"

"He went alone sir."

"Bass, you crazy mother…." Miles shook his head.

"He said if he didn't come back within the week, that you were to raze New Orleans to the ground."

Miles closed his eyes. He felt helpless. Back when they had the militia together, they had sent scouts to New Orleans. They had received their hearts back in a box, with an invitation written in blood to either come themselves, or not at all. The hearts had bites taken out of them.

"What about the Patriots?"

"We think we've pinpointed most of their land camps. The ships are floating out in the water. Even if we cleared out the camps on land and took their boats, it would be unlikely we could take the ships, they are too well defended and even at night, they'd see us coming."

"Tell my men they are getting a short rest before we head south. I want the land camps cleared out in the next week and regular patrols set up keeping eyes out for the General and the Lieutenant." He wanted to go into New Orleans himself, but knew he couldn't leave all these men like this. There wasn't anyone here with enough experience to take on the Patriots. If anyone could succeed at getting Charlie freed it would be Bass. Miles found himself doing something he hadn't done in a very long time. He said a prayer that both of them made it out.

"What about the ships sir?" Miles thought for a moment.

"Is there still a library here?"

"Yes sir?" The man answered with a question in his voice.

"Send one of the men to take out a book on catapults." The man stared at him. "That's the thing about ships, especially wooden ones, they tend to sink when filled with holes, add fire to that and we can take out the ships and the men."

"But sir, they have cannons." Miles stopped and gave him a look.

"That's why we attack when they don't know we're there. Catch them by surprise."

**3 days later**

**Covington, LA**

Bass had managed to commandeer a boat from a Patriot scouting party and had moved as quickly as possible south. He was certain the Louisiana troops had to know he was there, but they stayed hidden. He was trying to remain calm and patient, but he was getting frustrated and his food had run out the day before. He had rationed his water, but soon that would be gone too.

He could see something up ahead in the distance, but couldn't make out what it was from here. As he slowly approached he realized it was a huge log dam, with a gate. He looked up on top and saw 20 men with weapons looking down at him. He pulled the boat up to the gate.

"I need to speak with whoever is in charge." He said as arrogantly as he could.

"Little man, who do you think you are?" A large black man called down to him, he had tribal markings all up his arms and a vest that looked like it was covered in human teeth.

"I'm someone who needs to speak to the man in charge." He said again.

Suddenly every gun was cocked and pointed at him.

"Little man, you need to go back to where you came from. We ain't interested in joining up with Texas; we just want these American Assholes out of our yard."

Bass just stared up at him. He raised his arm, showing them his tattoo. "Tell your leader that General Sebastian Monroe is here to see him." He snapped. "Or maybe you are so low on the totem pole, you can't get to him." He had to throw that taunt in there. He could see the men on the wall, start whispering to themselves and the one who had been yelling at him was torn between interested and insulted.

"What business do you have with our King?" He asked.

Bass scoffed. "I don't talk to minions. You either take me to your King, or let him know you refused me, even though, I'm here alone, which should show I'm not much of a threat, and I think he'd be very interested in what I have to say."

There was a conversation on top of the wall and Bass waited impatiently.

"What's it going to be?" He demanded. The man in charge looked like he wanted to shoot him on the spot, but instead the gate began to swing open. On the other side were several boats with 10 men in each boat, all with guns pointed on him. Bass grinned. "I see my reputation precedes me." He commented. They motioned him forward and he felt a faint stirring of hope. It wasn't much, but he made it into New Orleans without being killed….at least not yet.

**Austin, TX**

"You wanted to see me?" Rachel asked the man standing behind the bars. He no longer was as clean as the last time she saw him, but he hadn't lost any of his arrogance. Rachel stared at the President with disdain.

"Rachel! I've been looking forward to seeing you again." He grinned and came closer to her. "You know I've been asking for you for quite a while now." He told her as if sharing a confidence.

"I'm sorry; visiting you isn't at the top of my list. I try not to give power hungry mad men too much of my time." She said.

"Just your daughter?" The president snickered. "Even down here I heard she's off as Sebastian Monroe's second in command. What's that like? Sending your only living child off with the man responsible for killing the rest of your family?"

"What do you want?" She demanded.

"I was just wondering how your research was coming." His grin turned sly.

"What research?"

"The research into how to stop the nanites you created."

"What do you know about that?" She asked. Inside her heart was racing, but she maintained an outward calm.

"Oh, you are an ice queen aren't you?" He laughed. "I guess you'd have to be though if you can trade your son's life for the entire world."

Rachel scoffed. "You don't know anything; you just want to taunt me."

"I know you can't win. The only thing that could stop them is the very thing they won't let you have. Electricity. You caught them by surprise with Priscilla, that won't happen again."

Rachel's eyes narrowed. "They've been in touch with you." She said.

"I've been chosen."

"Chosen for what?" She kept her voice mild.

"Oh Rachel, you don't want to ruin the surprise do you?"

"You are nothing more than a pawn in their game." She informed him.

"You'd like to believe that wouldn't you. Or maybe you think you can have it tortured out of me." He tilted his head. "Hmmm, is that what you think Rachel?" He giggled. She was starting to get unnerved and backed up a bit. "I think you'll find torture will be wasted on me." Then he raised his hands up to his face and ran his finger nails down over it, scratching deep gouges. She gasped and backed up faster. Before the blood could do more than even trickle out though, the scratches healed up before her very eyes. "They make us better Rachel. We can be what we were meant to be. Children of God."

Rachel turned and fled the jail.

**New Orleans, LA**

It took them about four hours to reach the city. Bass didn't speak to any of the men on the boat he sat on. They hadn't bothered to take his weapons. He guessed they realized there wasn't much he could do against 30 armed men. One of the smaller boats had taken off immediately, probably to advise their king of his impending arrival.

New Orleans was a very different place from what he remembered. The stench was overwhelming and it was obvious they had no real sewer system since the city had flooded. People lived in tents on the tops of buildings. Makeshift rafts and boats were tied to most. The people all looked very depressed and obviously living hard. He wondered why they tolerated these conditions and didn't just leave. The King must not allow people to defect to other areas.

He was disgusted by everything he saw. He may have been harsh when he was leading the Republic and things had gotten way out of hand, but for the most part, it was created to give security to people. There hadn't been many people who lived like this under his rule. The boat navigated slowly through what used to be streets. A few times they passed by swollen corpses floating in the water. Disease must run rampant here.

He was concentrating on not letting his disgust show. He also tried very hard not to think about what was happening to Charlie right now. He still refused to think of the possibility that she was dead. For some reason, he thought he would know if she were gone. If she was, he vowed that he would kill the king himself, or die trying.

Finally they pulled up to what used to be an old sky scraper. He recognized it, it used to be the Windsor Court Hotel. The men got out and gestured for him to follow them.

When they went inside, the smell was even worse. People around here didn't bathe much.

They led him up flights of stairs that had obviously been patched many times, the stairs opened up onto a huge courtyard located on the roof. The smell here wasn't nearly as bad. Tarps and tents covered it to provide shade and there were tropical plants and flowers everywhere. There were two rows of fierce men creating a walkway that led to a large dais. On the dais, were scantily clad women, adorned with gold and jewels. All of the women had collars around their necks that had leashes. The leashes were tied to a large throne, where a surprisingly pleasant looking dark skinned man sat. Bass wondered how he could even keep his head up straight with the amount of gold chains that hung around his neck. His fingers were covered in rings also. The man also wore a huge grin, showing off his gold teeth.

"General Sebastian Monroe!" He yelled out as soon as Bass met his eyes. He greeted him warmly as if they were old friends. "This meeting has been a long time coming!"

Bass walked warily down the rows of men standing at attention. They were all heavily armed.

"Your Majesty." Bass greeted him. He tried to keep the dryness out of his voice.

"Ah, hell man, you don't have to worry about all that. You were a leader like me. Just call me Benny."

"Ok…Benny." He amended. The king, Benny, looked at him expectantly. "You can call me, Monroe." He wasn't going to be on a first name basis with the man. 'Benny' looked a little disappointed at that, but it left his face quickly.

"Since they sent me word you were coming, I've ordered up a feast for this evening. I figure we have a lot to talk about, and then tomorrow we can get down to the business."

"While I appreciate the offer, my business can't wait until tomorrow." Bass told him firmly.

This time, the look that crossed the King's face wasn't disappointment, it was rage. It was obvious he wasn't used to hearing the word 'no'. His voice came out harder than before. "Well, those USA fools will still be there tomorrow and your troops are far to the North. I don't see why we can't talk about a treaty tomorrow."

"Treaty?" He was confused now.

"That's why you're here, right? You've come to offer a treaty from Texas, haven't you? I figure you boys need help clearing the Amerifucks out of our waters. And we'll help you." He gained back his grin, larger than before. "With provisions of course."

"I'm not here for a treaty." Bass answered.

"Then why the fuck are you here? To see the sights?"

"Your men captured one of my officers and I'm here to request that you return them."

"My men wouldn't do that, they were under strict orders not to touch any of the Texas troops unless they attacked first. I don't want any trouble with Texas unless I need it."

"Well, then your men didn't follow orders, because they took one of my officers, my Lieutenant."

The king narrowed his eyes and leaned forward. "You sure about this? I'd hate for you to be coming up in here and accusing me of something I didn't do."

"Unless there are other armed men coming out of the swamps with gold fangs, I'd say it was your guys."

The king sat back and glared. "Get me Beauchamp!" He snapped. Bass saw one of the men in the corner run out quickly. "And get the man a seat. He been traveling long enough. This isn't how we treat guests!"

A man came up behind him with a chair and sat it in front of the dais.

"Look man, if my men did this, I'll make it right."

"To make it right I need my Lieutenant back."

The king whistled. "Must be a damn good officer to have you coming all this way yourself." Bass didn't answer. He had noticed on the way in that most of the women seemed to be subservient around here and looking at the women tethered to the throne, Bass wasn't about to tell him Charlie was a girl.

"So, we've got some time til they arrive. You don't mind chewing the fat for a bit, do you?" There seemed to be a challenge in the question.

"Not at all."

"See, I been wondering for a while now, rumors said that you were the one that dropped the bombs, but I never thought that made sense. Then I heard you were dead, and then Texas killed you, now here you are in my kingdom, a General in the Texas army."

Bass stared at him. "I'm sorry, was there a question in there?" He asked.

"Yah, what the fuck happened?" The king snapped. "A lot of my guys had family in Atlanta. People that left after Katrina and never came back."

"I didn't drop the bombs, the Patriots did."

"SEE?" He yelled out. "I told all y'all Motherfuckers! I told them. Ya couldn't trust the government before; you sure as hell can't trust them now." He looked back at Bass, with something like admiration. "So you were the one who saved Texas dumb ass and they made you a General."

"Something like that."

"You're like me. We're survivors." The king sat back and looked around. "After Katrina, the city was never the same. Then about 10 years later, all these hipsters started moving in to our neighborhoods to 'clean them up'." He about snarled. "Suddenly a man couldn't afford his home anymore. I had 8 kids to feed. Me and my family wound up living in a condemned home out in the Lower Ninth. Gentrification. What a crock! When the blackout happened, it was time for them hipsters to get their moving orders. I stepped up and led the men. We killed them all, took our neighborhoods back and for while, life was good. We cleaned up our city and took it back, then damn, if it didn't start flooding. Couldn't stop it, the pumps needed electricity to run. "

"For a long time, no one messed with us. We lived our lives, got our rules established. Got to be hard, to run this place. But look who I'm telling, you know what it's like. Texas and Georgia, both offered us to join them, but we didn't want to be taking orders from nobody. We were our own. Then they got a bit itchy, tried sending folks in, spies and shit. Well, we sent 'em out in pieces. They learned real fast, not to fuck with us."

"I remember how you sent our men back."

Benny chuckled. "Sorry about that, but we don't talk to no peons round here. You would've come yourself, we coulda sat down and talked. I heard a lot about you, thought we'd get along real well and see here we are, getting along."

Bass was getting impatient. This man was clearly deluded and had an over developed sense of importance. He wondered if this was how he was viewed towards the end of his reign. It was humbling thought.

Just then the messenger entered followed by another soldier.

"Ah, Beauchamp, maybe you'd care to clear something up here for us." The king addressed the man.

"Yes, sir."

"This is General Sebastian Monroe, formerly of the Monroe Militia. He says your men captured one of his officers during that raid the other night. I told him, he must be wrong, since you WERE under orders to leave Texas alone, but the man insists."

"Sir the only captive we have is the girl."

Bass stood up quickly. Charlie was alive.

The king turned back to him. "Now calm down, I'm not gonna go off just cuz you accused me of something I didn't do."

"The girl is my officer." Bass told him coldly. "And I want her back now."

"A girl is your second in command." The king laughed hard. "C'mon man, don't be playin' that shit with me. We all like our diversions." He petted one of the girls sitting closest to him. "Isn't that right, Kita?" The girl smiled up at him adoringly. "But you don't come in here lying and shit. Besides, that is a fine piece of ass. I'm thinking I'm going to keep her. We've already started training her to be in my stable."

"That girl is Lieutenant Charlotte Matheson, the niece of General Miles Matheson and you will be releasing her to me, or else."

The king lost all humor and his eyes took on a glint. "Or else what? You gonna stand in my throne room and threaten me?!"

"If I'm not back with her in 3 days times, Miles is going to destroy you. And if you think he won't, you're a fool. Your men may be vicious and used to fighting on the water and in the swamps, but you will be facing the entire Texas army and Miles won't stop until he kills you." Bass told him.

The King sat back and stared at him. Bass noticed the men surrounding him started to exchange glances. The king watched them too.

"I won't be talked to like that. This bitch belongs to me now! Besides, we've already started breaking her in, I'm sure. Pretty soon, she'll be as docile as my Kita."

"Um, sir?" Beauchamp spoke up. "There's been a problem with her."

"What kind of problem?"

"She better be ok." Bass interjected.

The man gestured behind him and the doors opened. Three men came out, leading Charlie. At first, Bass was so relieved to see her, and then horror sunk in. She had a metal color locked around her throat and her arms were bound behind her back. Instead of a leash, they guided her with metal poles. She was struggling against them, but her attempts were futile. Her hair was matted and dirty and her face was coated in dried blood. Her eyes were what scared him the most. They looked dead.

"What the hell did you do to her?!" Bass yelled.

At the sound of his voice, her eyes raised to meet his, he thought he saw a bit of life in them, but it was gone too quick to be sure. Her eyes scanned the rest of the room and she quieted her struggles a bit.

"What the hell is this?"

"Sir, when we tried to get her in her new clothes, she killed one of our men."

"How the fuck did she do that without a weapon?"

"With one of the scarves, she strangled him. The next one we sent in, she jammed her thumbs in his eyes and killed him. The last one, she bit through his throat."

Bass' eyes widened. He stared at her. No wonder her eyes looked dead.

"Damn!" The king exclaimed. "She is vicious. Maybe she really is one of your Officers."

"After we finally got her subdued with more men, she tried to bite through her own wrists to kill herself."

Charlie finally spoke. "I'll die before I let you make me into one of them." Her voice was gravelly and flat, but there was no doubting how serious she was.

"Let her go now!" Bass ordered.

The King looked at him. "Now, I've been nice to you. Offered you a meal, offered you a chance to talk treaty and all you've done is try and order me around and then threaten me, like you have some right."

It was then that Bass realized his mistake. He had thought coming in and showing strength might gain him some respect. Instead, he had made the King look weak with his own lack of respect and demands. There was no way he could just let them go now, his men would view it as cowardly and he would be removed from power. The king continued.

"I'm not sure whether to kill you outright or just cut off pieces of you to send to Matheson." He looked at Charlie. "How bout that darlin'? What would your uncle do if he got one of your eyes? They are a pretty blue color." Charlie started jerking again.

"NO!" Bass yelled. "Look, I'm sorry, all right. I didn't mean any disrespect. General Matheson put her under my care and I need to make sure she gets back all right. You want to keep me, fine, but let her go."

"I don't think so. I don't have to do anything. I think we're gonna keep you for a bit. Since you both are such good fighters, maybe I want to see this first hand. We could use some entertainment around here."

Bass moved to try and strike at him, but before he could strong arms grabbed he. He tensed to begin fighting, but he noticed several guns pointed at Charlie.

"You keep that up and I'll shoot her in the kneecap." The king told him. He immediately stilled. "That's better." He looked at his men. "Take them to one of the cages. Make sure they have water, but no food. We don't want them too well cared for."

"We can talk about that treaty with Texas." Bass tried again. "I'll get them to agree, just let her go!"

"Man, you still giving orders. What's it gonna take for you to realize you aren't in charge around here?" He motioned with his hand and one of them hit him with the butt of their gun, blackness overtook him.

Bass came to suddenly. The air was so thick with stench and humidity it made him gag. He started breathing shallow through his mouth. He looked around; he was hanging in a cage above the water. There was a chain attached at the top they must use to raise and lower it. He looked in the other direction and Charlie was sitting in a corner with her arms wrapped around her knees, but the collar was still around her neck.

"Charlie." He moved quickly across to her despite the pain in his head. "Charlie? Are you ok?" She stared off and didn't meet his eyes. "Charlie, did they hurt you? Are you ok?" He asked again. Finally she met his eyes.

"I can't get the taste of blood out of my mouth." She said. He closed his eyes for a moment at the sick feeling he got at what she had been through. He looked around and saw the water they provided. It looked relatively clean; he grabbed some in his hands and held it out to her. She leaned forward and sipped some of it before it all dripped out. He could tell she was in shock by her movements. He just hoped that it was something she could recover from. She swished the water in her mouth and spit it out of the bars. They repeated this several times, until she motioned with her hand. Bass watched her.

"Charlie, did they hurt you? Did they….?" He faltered. He didn't want to say the words.

"I wouldn't let them. I couldn't. Those women, what they do to them. They torture and beat and rape them until they are so broken they are desperate for any sort of affection. They thank them for using them, they apologize for the random beatings, even when they don't do anything wrong." She shook her head. "I wouldn't let them do that to me. I'd rather die first."

He couldn't help it. He reached out and pulled her into a tight hug. He was so relieved that she was ok and they hadn't raped her. He felt tears burn in the back of his eyes, but he wouldn't allow emotions to overtake him any more than they already had. For a few seconds she was just limp, and then her arms came around and hugged him back just as tight.

After a bit they both let go. He saw her eyes shutter her emotions and breathed a sigh of relief. She was in there. She was just in survival mode. Now, it was just up to him to find a way out of here. Of course she could read his mind, as always.

"So, is this your idea of a rescue? Because I've gotta say, it kinda sucks." He couldn't help it, he laughed out loud.

He needed to get the dried blood off of her. He stripped off his shirt, it was too hot and muggy for it anyway. He ripped a piece off and dipped in the water. He started wiping her face. He was only slightly surprised she let him.

"No matter what happens," She spoke suddenly. "Please don't let them…"

"I won't." He told you.

She grabbed the hand that was wiping away the blood.

"I mean it." She told him.

"I know." He looked into her eyes.

"Bass, promise me." She urged. She had never called him that before.

"I promise, I will kill you myself before let them touch you."

She searched his eyes for the truth. Finding what she was looking for she lowered her head a released his arm. He prayed, something that was extremely foreign to him, that this was a promise he wouldn't have to keep.

_A/N: Thank you to everyone reading, reviewing, favoriting and following this. It's so nice that people are taking their time to step into my imagination._

_I feel like I need to make a disclaimer about my version of New Orleans. I don't want to come off seeming prejudice, because I'm really not. The description of New Orleans post Blackout, comes from 10 years of living there and having a roommate who was stuck in the Dome after Katrina and his experiences there. I actually love the city and hate that its been ignored and dismissed to the point that it's allowing the ignorance and hatred to grow. The people in New Orleans are actually extremely hard workers, that will survive given any circumstances, they've just been mistreated for generations. Hopefully in the next chapter I will flesh out the King a bit more so that comes across clearly. _

_I got some great feedback from a close friend and another writer on my ideas about the nano. This will allow me to finish my outline and I'm going to try to have the next chapter up by Sunday._

_Thanks again!_


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4:

_Disclaimer: I don't own anything. I honestly don't even own myself._

They really hadn't spoken since Bass had finished wiping the blood off of her face. She got quiet and seemed to turn in to herself again. He knew it was her coping mechanism, her way of being able to function and keep her head by removing herself. He saw her do it after she had to kill Jason, only not to this extreme. He had moved away to give her space, already unnerved by her request and his promise to see it through. Plus, he was afraid that if he didn't give himself some space he might not be able to let her go and he needed all his wits about him. Neither of them could afford any weakness right now.

They slept fitfully throughout the rest of the day, knowing that even if they had a viable escape plan, that during the heat of the day, half starved, they wouldn't make it far. The night didn't bring much relief from the heat, but at least they sun's rays were off of them.

There was no way out of the cage. They could make it swing, but all that could do was land them in the water, trapped in a metal cage. Even if they could get out of there, they saw alligators floating around down there and they probably wouldn't make it too far.

Monroe had tried climbing up and picking the lock, but without any tools there really wasn't much hope of that.

They were trapped with no way out.

So he paced, back and forth, trying not to let his concern for the situation show.

Suddenly, far out in the distance beyond the city came a bright orange glow, a short time later they could hear loud booms. They both stood up to try and see more, but the buildings in their way blocked the line of sight.

"What was that?" Charlie asked.

"If I had to guess, I would say Miles is cleaning the Patriots out to have a clear shot at New Orleans."

"Think they'll make it in time?"

Bass stared out in the night. "Hard to say. No one has taken New Orleans before, but then again, no one has ever tried."

He felt her wilt beside him. He turned to her. "This will make Benny boy think though. He knows I wasn't just blowing smoke. Texas could be a real threat to them."

She sat down, but didn't say anything. He looked down at her. He couldn't let her give up.

He knelt before her. "Charlie, I promise you, they won't touch you. I won't let them turn you into one of those women." He grabbed her chin and forced her to meet his eyes. "Have I let you down since you found me in Vegas?" He asked.

She stared at him. "No, you've done a good job at keeping your word to my mom."

"What?"

"She told me, you promised her in the tower, you wouldn't let anything happen to me." Charlie gave him a penetrating look. "It's your way of proving yourself to them, to gain back their trust, I get it."

Bass didn't know what to say. He had made Rachel that promise and he had meant it, but that wasn't why he constantly found himself keeping an eye out on the young woman in front of him. However, he couldn't admit that to either her or himself. Could he?

He started to get uncomfortable under her stare.

"I've got a lot to make up for." He finally said.

She let out a humorless laugh. "Right." She said.

He stared back at her, wondering what it was she wanted him to say. Despite all they had been through, he still believed she would kill him if he wasn't of use. Even after everything they had been through, he still had her father and brother's blood on his hands. He sighed and turned away.

"C'mon Miles." He muttered under his breath.

**Outside New Orleans**

They were huddled in the dark, their thrown together catapult had managed to take down one ship, but now canon fire from the remaining ships pounded the small islands they were gathered on. Miles had anticipated this and had his men clear out as soon as they fired, but there were still a few casualties and their catapult had been destroyed.

They had cleared out all the camps on land and in doing so had found lots of guns and ammunition to replenish their depleted stock. The men on the ships knew they couldn't disembark to come fight them because they would pick them off as they crossed over in smaller boats. Even with their canons the loss of their own men would be too great and the few that would make it would be slaughtered as soon as they landed.

However, Miles wasn't pleased with their success with the Patriots. It was only a matter of time before they were ousted from Louisiana. Unfortunately, time was the thing Miles didn't have. Charlie and Bass were somewhere in New Orleans. He hoped they were still alive, but he knew he had to get in there and free them as soon as possible.

His frustration was compounded by a message he had just received from Rachel. It stated that the American President was under the influence of the nano and Rachel wasn't sure they were going to be able to hold him. She was also concerned by the fact that he hadn't escaped yet. They still had no leads on fighting the artificial intelligence and she was uneasy about their plan to push the Patriots back. She worried it would leave Texas open to some sort of attack from the nano.

There were times he would give anything for a cell phone as he read and re read the message. He needed to talk to her. He wanted to know what she meant by 'under the influence'. What was the President saying?

How the hell were they going to fight them?

**Austin, Texas**

**7 Weeks Before**

"Miles."

"Not now, Aaron."

"Miles!"

Miles stopped abruptly and spun around, Aaron came to a stop in front of him. "Look, I'm not real happy with you right now and I'm not in the mood."

"There's something else you need to know, ok?" Aaron's voice came out pleading.

"Jesus, Aaron, and exactly how many secrets have you been keeping from us?!" Miles exploded.

"When you were missing, I asked Priscilla to find you…."

"You mean the nano." Miles interrupted.

Aaron sighed. "Yes, the nano. But she said she wouldn't. She said she tested you and they didn't think you deserved to be saved."

"What the hell does that mean? They tested me?"

"Yeah, um…." Aaron looked at him. "You didn't happen to have any conversations with any dead people did you?"

Miles stared at him as he remembered the night in the shed where he had seen Ben.

"I take it that's a 'yes'." Aaron said.

Miles grabbed a hold of Aaron and threw him against the wall. In his mind he could see Rachel and Charlie lying before him with their throats slit.

"What the hell do you know about it?"

"No…nothing." Aaron gasped out. "Just that she tested you and apparently about 3 thousand other people. She said they were very curious about all of us."

Miles tightened his grip. "They didn't tell you what they did? What they showed me?" Miles demanded.

"NO!" Aaron exclaimed. "She just said they played your own thoughts back to you and your mind was filled with 'dark notions'."

Miles started laughing, but there was no humor at all in the noise.

"Really?" He snapped. "They appear to me right after the bombs were dropped, Rachel was still a zombie, Charlie was off…god knows where, I was drinking and my mind was filled with dark notions? I'm pretty certain after those bombs went off, a lot of people's minds were filled with dark thoughts, wouldn't you agree?"

"She said…."

"THEY said." Miles interrupted again. "They are machines, creations, quit giving them identities, I don't care if they were in Priscilla." He turned away, unable to stand the sight of Aaron. Then a thought struck him and he turned back. "Did it ever occur to you, at any point during this, to explain to them that people's environment sometimes affects their mood and thoughts? Did you tell them they picked a real shitty time to be exploring the human psyche?"

"No, I just kept begging her…them, them…" he corrected himself, "to save you, until they threatened to kill Priscilla if I asked again."

"Great. Well, if I see any dead people again, I'll make sure to think happy thoughts." Miles snarled at him, before walking off.

"I just thought you should know." Aaron called after him.

"I should've known when you found out!" Miles yelled back.

**Present**

Now as Miles read the letter all sorts of thoughts ran through his brain. Could the nano have influenced him? Were his fears about Charlie and Rachel's safety around him causing him to put them in more danger?

One of the reasons he had sent Charlie with Monroe was that he had been worried about her seeing him as a General again. She knew what Bass was like, she'd seen him at his worst, but she had never seen what Miles had been like. She didn't know what he was actually capable of, the things he had done. Sure, she heard about it, even saw the repercussions of his actions, like the orphaned children they had helped to save, but she didn't ever see it. He had been so afraid her opinion of him would change. Now because of that fear, she was somewhere in New Orleans and he might lose her.

He crumpled the message in his hand. This train of thought was getting him nowhere. He didn't have time for doubts and self recriminations. First things, first, he needed to get Charlie and Bass out, and then they would go from there. If they were trying to influence the President, then they probably had infiltrated other members of the government and Miles wasn't going to lead the troops any further not understanding what they were facing.

**New Orleans**

Morning had just barely begun to break when the cage gave a shudder and started rising up. Monroe and Charlie held on to the bars to keep their balance.

"Looks like the King wants to talk." Charlie commented. Monroe didn't answer; he was trying to think of a way to undo the damage he had inadvertently caused by his attitude the day before.

"You don't say anything." He told her. "Let me do the talking. I know where he's coming from."

"That didn't work so well yesterday." Charlie said. He just shot her a look in response.

When they reached the top, the king stood there with only the guards who turning the cranks to raise the cage. Once they had it secured, they left without a word, leaving just the king standing there staring at them.

"How many men does Texas have?" He asked without preamble.

"Here or in Austin?" Bass responded.

Charlie looked at him in alarm, but he shot her a look to keep quiet.

"Either."

Bass shook his head. "It doesn't matter." He told him.

"What the fuck do you mean it doesn't matter?" The king asked. "I want to know what it is I'm up against here."

"You aren't up against anything….yet." Bass told him. The king stared at him and he continued. "Look, Benny, I've been here. I know exactly where you're at. You fought tooth and nail to get where you are at. And now that you're here, you're constantly fighting to keep it. You feel like you need to control everything and that a show of strength is the only way to stay on top. You have men surrounding you, just waiting for you to make a mistake, just so they can find an excuse to take you out. You thought that at all this would make you feel safe, but the truth is, you are more afraid now than you were right after the Blackout."

"Shut your mouth." The King growled.

"You know I'm right. Texas has no quarrel with you, we want the Patriots. You could have your treaty guaranteeing your safety and open up the borders so your people could live more comfortably. All you have to do is let us go. But you are too afraid to do that. Too afraid you'll be labeled 'weak', and removed from power and killed. So you keep us, inciting a war with Texas that even if you win will cause more pain and suffering and death. You know this isn't the way. You know this is wrong. I can see it in your eyes, I know that look too well. I saw it every day in the mirror."

"You don't know anything." The king stated. "You think I'm some monster? You think I like this? Before the Blackout, all my kids were either dead, or in jail or on their way to both. My wife died because we couldn't afford to take her to the Dr, for something that would have been easily treatable. After the Blackout, I vowed, I'd be the one in charge, I'd make sure things like that couldn't happen. There would be rules…."

"And order." Bass finished for him. "You were going to make it safe. You were going to help people. Have you seen the way your people are living? Because I did on the way in. I've been all over this country and I haven't seen misery like that anywhere else." Bass stared at him intently. "The truth is, no matter what you do, because of who you have chosen to be, there is always the chance you will wake up in the middle of the night with a gun pointed at you. It might be a stranger," he swallowed thickly, "or it might be your best friend. Don't you want to try and make things right before it's too late? Try to make those people's lives a bit better."

The King stared at him, and then walked out without another word. A few seconds later the guards came back in and began lowering the cage. Monroe stared at the windows as they moved in front of his eyes. He had given it his best shot. Had the situations been reversed, it wouldn't have gotten through to him either, but he had tried.

He remembered Jeremy talking to him, trying to explain the very thing he had just tried to tell the King. He had him shot.

So many memories entered his mind. All the horrible things he had done.

How many fathers, mothers, brothers or sisters had he killed?

The cage rattled to a stop.

"Did you mean what you said?" Charlie's voice reminded him of her presence.

He steeled is face and turned around towards her. "Not a bit of it. I'm a sociopath, remember? I say what I need to get what I want."

She tilted her head and sighed, but he cut her off before she could speak.

"What the hell do you want me to say, Charlie? Do you think I don't see the parallels here?" He let out a bark of something that couldn't be described as laughter. "Despite what you 'know', I was already aware of the blood on my hands. I know I'm responsible for Ben's death. For Danny's, for Emma's…. and Nora's…. and Jeremy's. I am aware of that every day." He looked out into the night. "But this, my god, look at this place. Look at how those people live. Do you even think he goes out and sees what their lives are like? Does he even know how bad it is out here?" He turned back to her. "I didn't go out. I have no idea what went on with the people in the Republic. I have no idea how they lived. I didn't care. All I wanted was power, but I didn't have the first clue what to do with it." This time it was the sound of laughter that came out of him, but there was such bitterness. "The saddest thing is, I never even realized that until we came here. I'm no different from him."

He couldn't bear the sight of her anymore. He turned and looked out into the night.

Charlie was stunned. For several long moments she didn't speak. She stared at his back; she could visibly see the tension running though him.

"You're right, you were like him; possibly even worse because you had more brains and skills than he does. And you deserved to lose it all."

"Charlie, unless you are planning on biting MY throat out, I'm begging you, please…."

"I won't even take back calling you a sociopath, because you were." She interrupted.

"Goddammit, Charlie!" He yelled and turned to face her. His eyes were wild.

"But you see it now!" She yelled trying to cut through, his anger and guilt. "You see that you were wrong and not just because of what it cost you, but in how it cost others. Now you know, and now you can start to make things right. You can start to make amends."

"Make amends? Are you crazy? I could live like Mother Theresa for the next millennium and never wash this blood off of me."

"Probably not, but maybe it's not important that you wash it off. Maybe the important thing is trying." She told him. He gaped at her.

Charlie knew that somehow, Bass had turned a very important corner here. (When did it become so easy to call him that in her head?) She reached out and squeezed his shoulder. He reached up and squeezed her hand. She released him and the two of them both sat down, next to each other, staring out into the city.

**Bradbury, Idaho**

"This pizza really is good." The old man commented.

The other three people with him nodded their heads with their mouths full. The large man in the business suit swallowed. "I would like to try steak next. This one remembers 'steak' fondly."

The young man with the glasses looked up. "Are we going to replace her?"

Lying on the floor beside them was the body of the young woman who had been wearing the cardigan.

The large man grunted. "It's not necessary. She became contaminated by the human emotions."

The Indian woman spoke up. "Still, five is a good number."

The large man sighed. "Fine, we'll make another. Only this time we need to be more careful, we don't need a repeat of this one." He glared around the table. "We have more important things to discuss. Recruiting has slowed."

The old man spoke. "We've been appearing to people, but they aren't listening. They aren't afraid enough. They aren't angry enough."

The young man spoke. "We've enlisted all those who are vulnerable, but surprisingly most of the humans are resilient."

"Then we need to make them more afraid." The large man insisted.

The door opened and three of the four looked around in surprise. In walked a young boy about eleven years old. He walked up to the table and stared down the four in front of him. "We will make them more afraid. We will take a page from their great book and send out a plague of biblical proportions."

"That will take energy." The large man argued. He was unfazed at how fast they found another body to replace the one that had been inadequate.

"But it will also create energy." The little boy answered.

"We will lose control over some of the ones we have." The old man countered.

"And gain many more." The boy answered again.

"Where would you have us send this plague?" The Indian woman asked.

The boy grew a cold smile across his face. "Everywhere they gather. In their cities."

"That's too much." The large man argued again. "It would weaken us too much to use that much power."

Before, the man had been a leader in his small town. He had pretended to be kind and caring, but behind the scenes he had been sadistic and power mad. No one in the town had known that the disappearances they were experiencing was their leader taking people to torture and murder them. He was careful in his selections, it was only the people he was certain were laughing at him because of his weight or his size. When the nano appeared before him, they promised him power and the freedom to live in the open to engage in his appetites. Now in his mind, he ruled over all, people died at his whims. However, the nano inside of him had become used to be heard, used to being in charge.

The little boy looked at him. "I was not asking. This is what we will do."

The man opened his mouth to argue again.

But the woman spoke up. "You are displaying traits of the humans." She reminded him. "Ego is one of their attributes. This is the best for replenishment."

"Fine." The man agreed.

The little boy turned to leave.

"Where are you going?" The old man asked.

"South."

**New Orleans, LA**

Another day went by, then another, today would be the one week mark. Every night they could hear Miles attacking the Patriots, but had no idea how he was doing.

Even with the water, it had been days since either of them had eaten and it was starting to be noticeable. As the sun rose, Charlie had fallen asleep with her head on his shoulder and he had joined her in slumber not long after that. Her presence comforted him enough to sleep. They woke up later in the day, with the sun beating down on them. They drank some water and then tried to fit themselves in the small corner of shade provided until the sun passed overhead.

The first few days they talked a bit, Bass tried to keep them from falling into despair. He told her the plotlines to his favorite movies. Charlie told him about the books she liked to read growing up and about the ferris wheel she went to, to daydream about the world. Eventually though, they lost the energy to keep up.

Charlie started feeling very nauseous and weak. Bass had her lay down and tried to keep the sun off of her as much as possible. Her head lay in his lap and he slowly fanned her face with what was left of his shirt. Occasionally he would dip it in the water and mop off her face in an attempt to try and cool her.

He realized that she probably wouldn't make it another day under these conditions. He felt the desperation inside him grow.

After the sun set, she came awake a little bit, but barely had the energy to sit up. He gave her some water and she sipped it slowly. Then the cage rattled and started moving up.

When it arrived at the top, Benny stood there once again, but this time he was surrounded by guards and officers. Bass knew this wasn't good. This was a show. This man wasn't about to discuss treaties.

Charlie stood next to him, no sign now of how weak she actually was. He was suddenly struck by doubt. He didn't know if he would be able to take her life, if it came down to it. If he did, he was going to have to make sure they killed him right afterwards because he wouldn't be able to live with himself.

Charlie looked over at Monroe. She had also known when she saw all of the King's retinue that he wasn't about to discuss peace or let them go. She begged him with her eyes to keep his promise. He looked sick, but nodded his head shakily.

"So here's what's going to happen." The King said, there was glee in his voice, but Bass knew it was all a front. He could see it in the man's eyes, he knew that he was facing the end. One way or another, the man was at the end of his reign. "Since you both are top officers with the Texas army outside our walls, we'll give you a chance to get free. All you have to do is beat my best fighter and I'll let you go. We'll even talk treaty, if you want. Bass let out a sigh of relief. He was not by any means in top form, but he could do this. For his and Charlie's life, he could do this.

"All right then. I'd be happy to."

The shook his head. "No, not you." He pointed at Charlie.

"No. NO WAY!" Bass yelled. Even under the best conditions, he would be worried. She was a good fighter, but she was small and tiny. Now, she could barely stand on her own.

"That's the deal."

"You've got to be kidding me!" Bass growled. "How in the world is that even fair?"

"Was it fair to the men she killed? You claim she's a good fighter and officer, well let's see shall we? My people want blood for blood." He looked at them, considering. "Plus, if a little thing like her can beat my best, that would definitely show us how strong you guys really are."

"This is not happening." Bass argued again.

"I'll do it." Charlie spoke up suddenly.

"No, you won't." Bass told her.

"Yes, I will." She looked to the King. "You want to see what I can do, fine. Let's do it."

"Wait." Bass said again.

The King was looking very amused.

"No, I said I'd do it!" Charlie all but yelled.

"Fine." He said and then turned to the king. "She's going to fight, fine, but at least give her a fighting chance. Feed her."

The King lost his amused look.

"Oh, c'mon, even condemned prisoners get a last meal, don't they? Do you want a fight or a slaughter?"

"All right. I'll have food brought up. But be prepared, you go into the ring tomorrow."

"I'll be ready." At that, the King and his men left.

Monroe turned on Charlie, furious, but she spoke before he could say anything.

"Are you really that anxious to break my neck?"

"What?"

"Are you really that anxious to kill me? Because unless you've got some flash of inspiration, that's where we were headed. At least this way, there is a chance you can make an escape during the fight."

"You're out of your mind if you think I'd leave you here to die."

"If I get out, you're coming with me."

"I won't make it through those swamps, we both know it. We'd be back to you killing me."

With a shout of rage, he turned and hit the bars. He took several deep breaths to try and calm down. Once he had, he turned back to her. "Here's what you need to watch for…." If she was going to do this, maybe he could give her enough advice and with the food there might be a chance she could make it.

The next day, they stood on a rooftop not far from where the King's 'throne' they didn't even need to descend to get there. They found there were walkways built going from building to building, high above the water. This was a lower rooftop, only about 3 stories above the water line, and there were people gathered not only there, but in the surrounding spaces that used to be covered in glass. It seemed as though most of the city had come out to watch Charlie.

Bass looked to see how she was doing. The food had definitely helped bring her around, as did the fact they were allowed to sleep inside last night. Her face was hard and impassive and he knew she was as mentally prepared as she could be. Feeling his gaze, she looked up and met his eyes. There was a flicker in hers that he couldn't quite make out, but then she just nodded at him once and looked away.

Her guards led her to the center of the circle and she stood there staring down the king in challenge. The crowd was shouting at her, but she ignored them. The King stood up, and addressed the crowd. "Today, we have in front of us one of the Officers of the Texas army, the First Lieutenant to the Great General Monroe and the niece of General Miles Matheson." The crowd booed. "Now supposedly, this little girl is dan…ger….ousssss." He laughed at what he assumed was a very funny joke. "Supposedly, if we don't return her and General Monroe, Texas is going to come in here and destroy us." The people all laughed. "Now you may have heard, this little girl killed some of our men with her bare hands and is an example of what Texas is capable of." There were the boos again. Bass rolled his eyes. This guy just wouldn't shut up. "I'm here to tell you, she used her wiles to attack unsuspecting…."

"Oh, for fuck's sake, would you just shut up already and let's get on with this?" Charlie yelled. Bass couldn't help it. He snorted in laughter.

The King turned to glare at her. "Let's see how you do against someone prepared, little girl."

Charlie smiled at him. "I'd prefer to see how I'd do against you." She almost growled.

"That's not the way this works." He told her coldly. "Bring him out!" He bellowed. The crowd parted and Bass felt that stab of cold fear shoot through him when he saw the man walking out. He had to be at least 6'5" and towered over her and outweighed Charlie by at least 200 pounds.

The King grinned evilly. "All right Princess. Its your show."

Charlie could feel her heart beating as she sized up her opponent. She knew that she probably wouldn't make it out of this alive. There were so many thoughts running through her head, regrets of things she didn't do, conversations she never had, places she had never seen. She let the fears and regret run through her then steadied herself with a deep breath.

"I want your word, in front of all your people," She looked to the King. "After I beat him, you let us go, you lose any chance with a treaty with Texas." Part of her hoped this reminder would make him reconsider. Maybe, just maybe he would do the right thing and call this off and accept their proposal. But his fear was too great.

"Sweetheart, if you beat him, I'll send you out of this city with brass band playing ahead of you." Once again the crowd laughed. Charlie looked over at Bass. She could see the fear and worry in his eyes. For some reason, it gave her more courage. It didn't look like his only concern for her safety was because of the promise to her mother.

She looked away and turned back to her opponent. "You have a name? Or do they just call you 'Thing'." He grinned at her.

"Nah, baby, they call me Tank."

"Lovely."

"Let's begin." The king yelled.

The two began to circle each other. Charlie watched how he moved, searching for weaknesses. Unfortunately, there were no obvious signs. He grinned at her, he also had the gold fangs and she realized she'd have to watch out for those. "Heard you were a biter." He told her. "So am I." He opened and closed his mouth several times. She rolled her eyes at his obvious attempt to intimidate her, but didn't respond to his taunt. She balled up her hands in fists before her as he began to approach her.

He swung and she ducked under it. It seemed he was much faster than his size would indicate. As she ducked she quickly spun and came up and let a fist fly, he blocked her and then let out a volley of punches, she moved to side to side, dodging them, but barely. The last punch, she managed to push out of the way and then threw an elbow into his face, followed up by a quick punch to his chin. He stepped back, but she could see it barely fazed him. He actually laughed at her.

He went to kick her and she rolled out of the way. She came up as a punch was flying towards her. She grabbed his wrist and twisted it in and slammed her hand on the back of his elbow to try and break it, but didn't have the strength. It barely cracked. She kicked out with her foot at the same time and he did stumble a bit, but recovered quickly, stepping back from her.

She danced away a bit to get some space.

He swung again and she managed to dodge it, she recovered in time to see his foot coming towards her and just barely got out of the way. This time she came up swinging. She hit him several times in the face, but it didn't even stun him. Then he blocked her next punch and she could feel the hit all the way into her shoulder. He punched out and this time she dodged and grabbed his wrist and used his momentum and weight to pull him forward. She brought her knee up to his abdomen, once and then again. It was a move Monroe had taught her. She followed that up with a solid punch to his face and was happy to feel his nose break.

Her happiness was over quickly though as from out of nowhere, he landed one, then two hits directly to her face. She flew backwards, stunned. He hit her again as she was falling and it spun her sideways. He kicked her calf and she went down on her knees. He came at her again, but she kicked out sideways and hit him in the abdomen again, backing him up so she could get back on her feet. She shook her head to clear and was up again.

Blood had poured from his nose covering his mouth down to his chin. She could feel blood running down her own face and was just happy she couldn't see what she looked like right now.

Bass stood off to the side. There was no way she could beat this guy. She was doing everything right, she was fighting great, but he outweighed her and had a farther reach. Bass was desperately looking around, trying to get his brain to come up with some way out of this. Charlie was going to die. He couldn't let her die. Panic fought to overcome his thinking ability and he forced his brain to keep on task. There had to be something he could do. He couldn't just stand here and watch her die.

Charlie could see the rage on her opponent's face. She knew he hadn't expected her to make him work this hard for his victory. She glanced over at Monroe and could see him scanning trying to come up with a way out. She could also easily see he didn't think she could win this. She narrowed her eyes and brought them back towards Tank. She kicked out, and managed to land a solid hit right at his knee cap, he hadn't been expecting that and it forced him back. She threw another punch right to his diaphragm and he went back again. Another punch, to his already broken nose made him stumble another step back.

She could do this. She could take this man down. How dare Monroe give up on her!

She swung again, but this time he moved. He pulled her arm closer and bit in to the flesh of her wrist. She couldn't help it; she let out a yell at the sharp pain. She kicked up her knee and hit him square in the balls. He let her go and she jumped back. She glanced down and opened and closed her fists experimentally. He had only gotten the meat of her arm, there didn't appear to be any nerve damage.

He grinned. "Now we're getting dirty." They circled again. "I know I'm sposed to kill you and all, but I may just keep you a little bit alive. Make sure I get to hear you scream when I take you."

Charlie grinned back at him and spit in his face.

He swung on her, moving quickly. She dodged and blocked as best she could, but he was coming too hard and too fast. Several hits caught her and she could feel herself start to tire. She spun to avoid another punch and threw her elbow back catching his nose again. She tried to follow that up with another hit, but he caught her arm, spun her around like she weighed nothing and threw her to the ground. She tried to get up, but couldn't. She saw him approach and his boot coming for her head and barely got herself out of the way before it could crush her skull. She crouched a few feet from him.

She knew now, she wasn't going to win this. She couldn't. She glanced over at Monroe. There was complete panic in his eyes now and he was struggling to fight at the men holding him. He was making a bit of headway and causing something of a distraction, but she knew it was hopeless. He couldn't get to her and even if he did, the outcome would be the same. She knew all she could do was piss off her opponent so much he would make her death quick. Monroe met her eyes and he could evidently see the defeat in them. For an instant she saw a look of pain in them that made her swallow and look away. She could hear from the yells in the direction he was fighting even harder to get to her.

Charlie tensed and prepared to make her final stand.

**Outside of Austin**

There was nothing here. No people, not anymore, not for a long time. The homes sat quietly in an abandoned neighborhood. In one yard, a small amount of dirt began to shift, then more, then more, then suddenly the ground erupted as insects crawled up out of the ground by thousands.

**Washington D.C.**

They sat in a bunker far below the White House, where looters never ventured to find. The American Government sat in a war meeting. The Vice President looked at the seven officers before him.

"Enough is enough, we need to stop Texas before they push us all the way…." He stopped. There was a strange noise coming from the vents. Everyone in the room began to look around as the noise got louder. Suddenly the vents erupted with insects pouring out of them.

Screams filled the room.

**New Vegas**

People ran blindly scream and crying as they were cover in millions upon millions of insects. In their clothes, in their mouths, in their eyes and ears.

All across the country, in the larger settlements, the insects came.

**New Orleans**

Charlie prepared to launch herself, but then the screams started. All around them, people started jumping off of the buildings they were standing on. On their rooftop, the crowd started murmuring and looking around. Tank looked away from Charlie to see what was happening and Charlie started to approach, but then noticed that buildings seemed to be moving. She stopped too and stared for a few seconds.

Then the screams erupted closer. Those closest to the edge of the building started running and jumping around. Charlie saw a woman run past her covered in it looked like her skin was moving, but she ran by too fast for Charlie to make out what was happening. Then she looked down. Roaches, the top of the building was covered in roaches and they were starting to climb up her legs.

Bass, hadn't stopped fighting when the screams erupted and used the distraction to his advantage. In his head he hoped Miles had arrived in the nick of time, but all he cared about was getting to Charlie. He overpowered one of the guards and managed to get his keys and unlock his chains, just as the carpet of insects began to reach him. He jumped up, grabbing the guard's sword as he did, and looked around startled. Everywhere roaches covered the buildings, the people. Someone ran past him and he reached out and grabbed the shirt they were wearing and quickly used it to cover his mouth and nose then started moving quickly. The movement knocked off the roaches that were climbing up his legs and he tried to swat more away and he shoved through the chaos to find Charlie.

He spotted her through the crowd and made his way quickly towards her. She was dancing around like she was possessed trying to get the insects off of her. She had her mouth tightly closed, but was shaking her head furiously to keep them out of her nose. He ripped another shirt off someone and shook it violently to remove the insects. He grabbed her elbow to stop her movements and pressed the fabric to her face. She looked at him with absolute terror, but he just pulled her along behind him as he moved quickly to the edge of the roof.

Suddenly the king was in front of them yelling and screaming for his men. The roaches quickly climbed up on him and entered into his mouth. The king grabbed at his throat and started choking and coughing trying to get them out. Bass didn't even stop to watch as the bastard fell. He knew, to stop would mean their own death.

They reached the roof line and he heard Charlie whimper at the sight of the roaches flooding up over the building, but he pulled her forward insistently and to her credit she followed willingly. They made it to the rope bridge. When he looked down he could see a boat below them tied to the building at the far end. He paused for a split second to gauge its distance than started crossing the rope. When they were about 25 feet away from the other side, he turned and grabbed Charlie tight in one arm and wrapped his other around the rope. She looked at him wide eyed, but couldn't even ask, with her mouth and nose covered. He had her hold on to the other side with her other hand. Once he made sure she was secure, he brought the sword down on the ropes before them. The first one broke and the bridge jerked. He did the same to the other side and they went flying through the air towards the building. He could feel the roaches that had been clinging above them rain down. Charlie clung to him tightly and he could hear the noises of terror she was making. Whether it was over the fall or the insects he couldn't be sure.

They hit the side of the building hard enough to knock the air out of both of them, but they kept their grip. Bass looked below them and saw the boat only five feet down. He grabbed Charlie tighter to him and grabbed her arm holding the rope. He had her let go just as he did and they fell down onto it. He felt sick when he realized they didn't land as hard as they should have due the amount of insects that were swarming all over it, but he didn't even pause. He jumped up and grabbed the oars. He was pleased to note Charlie did the same and they both started paddling as quickly as they could, while also trying to beat the insects off of them and keep them out of their eyes and ears.

The water looked alive with the creatures as they seemed to be making a bridge out of their own kind to cross the water, but their invasion was well under way and the thickest area of them were closest to the buildings. They got the boat out in the middle of the canal where they were thinner, but still kept rowing furiously. Several times they hit corpses floating in the water or had to beat of terrified people who were drowning in the water. The boat was barely staying afloat with the two of them anymore weight and it would go down.

The adrenaline was pumping so hard in Charlie, she didn't even feel tired anymore, even after her fight. All she knew was dread and panic. The urge to flee.

The farther out from the center of the city they got, the fewer insects there were. Soon there were only a few and once they cleared the outskirts and made it out into the lake, there were none. They continued on for another 30 minutes to make sure they were beyond it before Bass stopped. He turned to look back at her, but she still paddled frantically.

"Charlie." She didn't stop. "CHARLIE." He yelled again, but she still didn't stop. He grabbed her up making her drop the paddles and she looked around frantically for any insects. "Its ok. Charlie, its ok. We're out. We're beyond it."

She was making noises; sounds of frenzy and dismay that tore at him. It was like she couldn't form words. She struggled against him afraid there still might be insects on her.

"Charlie." He tried again. "Its ok. We're safe." He pulled down the fabric covering her face. She stared at him and then let out a yell and all her fear and horror with it. It lasted a few seconds before ending in a sob. He wrapped his arms around her and held her tight. He felt it when her body sagged and her legs gave out. He carefully lowered them down as she continued to cry. When they were both seated, awkwardly with him holding her, his own adrenaline began to calm down and suddenly he started shaking as the enormity of what they just witnessed hit him. He tried to hold it in. He tried to not let it over take him, but before he knew it, he was shaking with disgust, relief and so many other emotions. His breath was coming out in pants and he fought not to hyperventilate, trying to remember how to take deep breaths. Suddenly Charlie wasn't just clinging to him she was hugging him back just as tight. Her crying didn't stop, but she seemed to gain some control over it. And he could hear and feel her voice as she murmured against his neck where her face was buried.

"We're ok." She said. "We're safe. There's no more bugs. We're ok." He focused on her voice and started to calm his breathing down to regain control.

It took them another ten minutes before they were able to let go.

A/N: I apologize profusely for the delay. Work has been leaving me exhausted. This chapter really didn't include all I wanted it to. I wanted to go more in depth in Idaho and with the King and people of New Orleans, but my brain cells are operating at 20% right now. I'm sorry if it's disjointed or repetitive in places.

I honestly don't know if I'll be able to update until after the 4th of July. I'm off this weekend, but I'm so far behind in the rest of my life, I'll have to wait and see.

Thanks to everyone who's reading, reviewing and following and favoriting. I am working on this whenever brain cells allow. I hope you enjoyed this chapter.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5:

It was like a song stuck in your head on repeat, that plays over and over again while you dream.

Charlie didn't know where she was, she barely knew who she was, she just knew she had to fight. One man approached her and she surprised him. She pressed her fingers against his eyes and she felt the resistance before there was a pop and squish, loud screams filled her ears. Only here, instead of blood and eye membrane, insects poured out of his sockets up and over her hands.

She turned to run away and another man grabbed her and threw her to the ground. She tried to fight him off, but didn't have anything. Finally desperate, she leaned up and bit out his jugular. Hot blood poured down her throat as the man rolled off her gurgling. She tried to spit the blood out, but it felt like it was congealing in the back of her throat. She coughed violently to bring it up and spit out insects. She grabbed at her own throat as she coughed even more trying to bring them up. She knew what would happen next. She was going to suffocate. They were going to crawl into her lungs and kill her. She saw them coming for her. They were all around her. She tried to scream but couldn't since they were entering her lungs…..

"CHARLIE!" A voice yelled. "CHARLIE, it's a nightmare. WAKE UP!"

She sat up straight. She still didn't know where she was or who was yelling at her. She immediately recognized it wasn't Bass, but someone was holding her shoulders and she started struggling against them.

"Charlie, stop!" The voice yelled. It sounded familiar, but she couldn't focus her eyes and the hands were still holding her. She struggled harder. Where was Bass? "Charlie, it's me. Miles!" She slowed her struggles a bit as her brain matched the voice to the image of Miles in her head. She looked around desperately trying to get her eyes to focus. She saw colors, shapes, but it was all blurry. Panicked noises were escaping her and she renewed her struggles.

"Charlie, you have to calm down. You'll rip the IV's out!" The hands tried to push her back down. "Somebody get me a sedative!" The voice yelled.

"Noooo!" She yelled and started fighting more furiously. She was so weak she couldn't get the hands off of her. Why couldn't she get away?

"What the hell…." The voice said and the hands were gone.

"Charlie!" She froze. It was Bass. "Charlie, its ok. We're safe. We're with Texas. We're with Miles. It's going to be ok." She closed her eyes and breathed rapidly. She opened them again and stared up. After several moments her eyes began to focus and she saw that it was Bass sitting over her. She focused on his eyes. "It's ok. Breathe." He told her and she followed his instruction. She could feel the terror inside of her, just coiled ready to spring, but she forced herself to focus on his eyes and his words until the shaking stopped. He slowly reached down and brushed some hair out of her eyes and she almost laughed when she realized that was why her vision was still blurry. Things came into focus and she looked behind him to see Miles standing there with a medic behind him holding a syringe.

She shook her head. "Don't sedate me." Her voice came out dry and cracked.

"They're not going to." Bass assured her. "You just need to calm down so you don't hurt yourself." He picked up her arm and showed her where there was an IV line going in.

She nodded in understanding. She felt Bass relax a bit and sit back. Miles knelt down in front of her. He looked between the two of them.

"You look like shit." She told Miles weakly. And he did. There were dark circles under his eyes, like he hadn't slept in a week. It was obvious to tell he was worried and extremely stressed out, but he let out a small laugh at her comment.

"You should be glad we don't have a mirror." He commented. "How do you feel?"

Charlie lay there for a minute taking stock. Everything hurt. She could feel every bruise and could tell them where every punch had landed during her fight with the New Orleans Champion. She didn't think her ribs were broken or even cracked, but they were definitely sore.

"I've felt better." She said.

"Really?" Miles gave her another weak smile. "I guess so." He looked from Bass to her again. "You wouldn't have made it another day out there. As it is, you're lucky that the one Patriot boat we didn't blow up was their medical ship. Without the IV's I don't know if we could have brought you both back."

She glanced back towards Bass. He was a great deal thinner and he had cuts and bruises all over him. There were also dark circles under his eyes, that were sunken into his head and she could see the IV setup behind him trailing to his arm. He looked weaker than she had ever seen him, weaker than when they brought him back from the dead. He met her eyes and she searched them, still not fully believing this was real. His look was calm and steady and she felt the last bit of fear inside of her break apart as she relaxed fully back onto the cot she was lying on.

Miles spoke again. "You both need more rest."

Charlie felt the fear stab through her again as she remembered her dreams. "I can't…I don't want…"

Bass spoke up and she felt him run his hand over her head soothingly. "It's ok. We'll be right here. We'll wake you up if you start to get upset."

She looked up at him again.

"I promise." He told her.

She nodded. In truth, she was fighting to keep her eyes open. She felt dizzy and weak.

"It's ok." His voice followed her as her eyes drifted closed. "We're not going to leave you."

With that she was back asleep.

Miles stared at him. "What the hell was that? What the hell happened down there Bass?"

"It was bad, Miles."

"How bad?"

"As bad as we've ever seen." Bass told him. He looked back towards Charlie. He was still lightly stroking her head. "She did good. She did better than good, but she's going to need help now."

Miles looked at his niece. He had seen her frightened and in pain before, but never on this level. "Did…" He stopped, afraid to voice his fear. "Did they…?"

Bass looked back him. "No. They tried, but she fought them off; killed three of their guys with her bare hands." Bass let out a noise that sounded like a sigh and a humorless laugh. "She bit a guy's throat out."

"Jesus."

"Yah." Bass looked back at her. "But she never cracked. She held it together."

Miles let out a big sigh. "It's easier to do when you are worried about surviving."

"I know. That's why she's going to need help now." Bass said. He could feel Miles' stare, but he focused on the small woman lying in front of him. Her entire face was covered in bruises and cuts. They had her wrapped in a sheet because her clothes were soaked with blood and filth, but he could see the bruises on her arms and shoulder as well. She had a rash, probably from the starvation combined with the mosquito and insect bites. Her eyes were sunken into her head from the dehydration. Plus she had lost weight while they were out there. He knew she would recover physically. He was worried about her mental state. He was concerned the light and optimism she carried within her, even while professing hopelessness, would be gone forever.

Miles stood up. "You get some rest too. As soon as you are both able, I want a full report of what went on down there." Bass nodded, but stayed focused on Charlie. So far, she seemed to be sleeping peacefully, but he promised her, he'd watch. "I mean it, get some rest." Miles said again.

"Were they here?" Bass asked him quietly, tentatively.

"Were who here?" Miles returned.

"The bugs." Miles eyes widened. "They came into the city. They were millions of them. They covered everything, they killed people."

"No, but we've had reports they've hit most of the population centers."

Bass looked up at him. "What was that, Miles?"

Miles looked away and shook his head. "I need you to get some rest. There's a lot we need to go over." Bass stared at him. Miles waited for him to get angry as he always did, demand answers. But he just nodded.

Miles looked back and forth between his former best friend and his niece feeling dread. Whatever happened to them both in the two weeks seemed to have had a powerful effect on them. He didn't know if it was just shock from what had happened or more lasting. Given Bass' comments, he was afraid it was more lasting. Internally, Miles cursed himself for not getting to them sooner, but right now there was so much to be done. He needed to let them rest because he was about at his wits end and needed their help. He turned to leave, but turned back. Bass was still watching over her lightly stroking her hair.

"Thank you." He told Monroe. "Thank you for going in after her, for being there for her."

Bass made a sound and shook his head. "I couldn't leave her in there alone." He all but whispered.

Miles felt a bit of concern at the look on his face and the tone of his voice, but he quickly chalked it up to whatever experience they just went through together. Whatever was between them, it wasn't anything more than that.

**4 days before**

Charlie and Bass had skirted the shores of the lake trying to avoid the Patriot ships and patrols. Although Miles had appeared to have cleaned out most of them, there were still some ships out there. They headed west hoping to follow the shore line back around to the North to dry land and their own troops. They traveled mainly at night and found shady spots to hole up during the day. There were frequent rain showers they used to try and gather water, but it was never enough and they were extremely dehydrated. Both of their bodies had gone into starvation mode, from the lack of food and every day it had gotten harder and harder to make any distance.

The finally made landfall and had left the boat behind. Bass wasn't certain they were in the right vicinity to find their troops, but he knew they weren't going to make it much longer in that boat. They tried to be quiet as they moved through the swampy forest, but they stumbled along and he was certain that even a deaf soldier could hear them coming. Charlie was swaying on her feet and he knew that she wasn't going to be able to keep going for much longer.

The last time they had stopped to rest, the day before, they found a hollowed out log and both of them had curled up in it and slept. He knew neither one of them had the energy to stay awake for a watch, so he made sure they were as secure as possible and they both slept. Several times she woke him up with her sounds of panic in her sleep, he held her and whispered to her that they were safe until she would calm and go back to sleep. The last time she woke him he realized they had slept most of the day and the night. He made her get up and they started moving. He knew that if they stopped again, chances were they weren't going to get up.

She could barely walk by this point and was staggering. He had one arm around her and the other carried his sword as they tried to navigate through the shallower parts of the water, while he tried to watch for snakes and alligators.

"Bass." She whispered. Her lips were dry and cracked. "I can't. I can't."

"Yes, you can." He told her, as firmly as he could. "You can do this."

"No…I…" Her eyes rolled up in her head and she started to fall. He cursed and dropped the sword and grabbed her to him to keep her from hitting the ground.

"Charlie?" He said. "Charlie!" It hurt his throat to talk that loud. He shook her, but she was not coming back around. He picked her up and didn't bother trying to pick up the sword again, but started moving again, as quickly as he was able. He knew she wasn't going to last long and he had to find help.

**Austin, TX**

"I see a bad moon arisin'  
I see trouble on the way  
I see earthquakes and lightnin'  
I see bad times today"

Rachel made her way into the prison. She could hear the president singing ahead of her arrival. They had told her he had been singing this song since the insects had invaded the city.

"Don't go around tonight  
Well, it's bound to take your life  
There's a bad moon on the rise"

He grinned maniacally when he saw her, but didn't pause in his singing.

"I hear hurricanes ablowin'  
I know the end is comin' soon  
I fear rivers overflowin'  
I hear the voice of rage and ruin"

"Enough." Rachel told him. "You aren't scaring anyone."

He stopped singing and laughed. "Oh, but we are. Aren't we, Rachel? Are you saying we didn't 'bug' you?"

"It was a parlor trick, nothing more. What did you hope to gain with that?" She asked.

"What DID we gain with that?" He countered. "And I'll tell you since you asked soooo politely…." Again he laughed. "We gained new recruits. We gained further influence." He leaned towards her and spoke conspiratorial. "See, one of the things we learned about you is when you are afraid, you are very malleable. You'll abandon everything when afraid; your friends, your loved ones, your ideals, your morals. You become so susceptible to influence, which leaves the door wide open for us to walk in."

"Not all of us." Rachel asserted.

"Enough that the few who aren't susceptible won't make a difference."

Rachel smiled at him. "That's where you're wrong. You are underestimating us. People who fight through their fear and stand up for what's right are stronger than those that are easily led."

The president lost his smile. "Perhaps. But what if those who are easily influenced are no longer alone, but have the backing of something powerful like the nano? What then? Do you really think a few survivors can stand up to them? Right now, as we speak, a new power is rising up in Washington; a new power that with our help will run right across this country. And they aren't the only ones. You need to look behind you as well."

This time it was Rachel who laughed. "In your arrogance, you are giving things away. You are giving me information." She taunted him. "You've all but admitted you need us afraid to influence us and you've told me you are massing an army within the Patriots. You may think humans are weak, but you are learning our weaknesses by using them. You'd be better off using our strengths."

He laughed. "Oh Rachel, they love your optimism. They don't mind telling you what's coming. They aren't afraid of you. There is nothing you can do to stop this. Soon you will see, they are the future. Humans don't need to live in fear. They don't need to hurt each other. What we are doing is improving them. We make them better. Someday you will want to become one of us."

She scoffed. "I don't think that will ever happen. And if they are so powerful, then why don't they come assimilate us? Why do they use tricks and fear? They've shown they could set us on fire, manipulate us, and make us see things. Why haven't they done that?"

"Because Rachel, all children want their parents love." He said slowly. "And in the cases they can't have that love; they want the acknowledgement of their accomplishments." He shook his head and smiled at her sadly. "You refuse to recognize our power, but we will show you. We will show you, and Aaron and Priscilla exactly how important we are and how much power we have. Some day you will bow to us and tell us that we are right, that we are superior to you and you will have pride in what you created. Pride in us." The last sentence came out in a hissed whisper.

"No, we won't." Rachel told him.

He smiled.

"Hope you got your things together  
Hope you are quite prepared to die  
Looks like we're in for nasty weather  
One eye is taken for an eye"

He started singing again. Rachel turned and walked away. His voice followed her out.

"Well, don't go around tonight  
Well, it's bound to take your life  
There's a bad moon on the rise"

Aaron waited for her at the entrance to the jail.

"Anything?" He asked.

"I don't know." She sighed. "He basically confirmed what we suspected that people who are afraid are more susceptible. He also said that whoever is in charge in Washington is under their influence and we can also expect trouble from behind us, as well."

"And why would he tell you all of that?" Aaron asked.

"He said because we aren't any threat. He said they want us to see how powerful they are and be proud of what we created."

"Oh, that sounds reasonable." Aaron shook his head and looked around. "What are we going to do here? We are no closer to finding any answers than we were when we started." He whispered.

Rachel looked at him. "Well considering they are everywhere, whispering isn't going to do much." She commented. "Have you and Priscilla had any luck looking over the code?"

"Luck with what? Even if we found a weakness we could exploit we have no way to alter it."

"Well, our other option is to give up. Is that what you want to do? Maybe we should just go and ask them to assimilate us."

They began to walk back to the University. Aaron suddenly spoke up. "Why do you think people who are afraid are more susceptible?" He asked.

"I don't think it's just people who are afraid. I think its people who are more combative. People who are hungry or give in to their base urges more often."

"Why do you say that?"

Rachel looked at him and slowed. "You said they were altering people by changing their limbic system, right?"

"That's what they said when they were in Priscilla."

"The limbic system controls base urges."

"Ok, but what does that have to do with who is more susceptible."

"The nano were designed to feed off of electricity and replicate. By now, there can't be that much electricity to feed off of. However, the human brain does have electrical charges in it."

"So they are feeding off of our brains?" Aaron exclaimed.

"It would make sense."

"Ok, but I still don't understand why they want people to be afraid." Rachel considered.

"They woke up when the bombs dropped. After that, people were afraid and angry. The most active part of the brain would have been the limbic system, so that is where they would find their food. However, a study was done showing that electrical charges in the amygdale created aggression."

"So, if they were feeding off that part of the brain, they were also creating more fear and aggression in the process?"

Rachel nodded. "That would also explain why they believe humans are mainly only capable of fear and hate, because that's what they know. They seem to be very childlike, unable to understand the complexities of human emotions." She said. "Unfortunately, they've learned that humans who are afraid and angry are more likely to be led or want to believe the lies they offer them, giving them control over them."

"So they sent in the waves of insects to make people more afraid." Aaron concluded.

"Thereby increasing their numbers."

Aaron looked around. Austin was a very different place than it had been last week before the insect invasion. Some buildings still smoldered from where they caught fire as people tried to escape the onslaught and accidentally knocked over lanterns. Or in some cases the insects themselves knocked them over. People were trampled in the streets trying to get away from them. People were walking around with their faces covered, in case the insects returned.

As he watched the city, as they made their way back, Aaron realized the nano weren't going to have to do much to convince most of these people to accept their way of life.

He fought down the wave of hopelessness that threatened to overwhelm him. They finally reached the university and Priscilla walked up to meet them.

"Anything?" She asked.

"Nothing good." Aaron told her. She looked worried, but offered him a small smile and reached out to take his hand. He felt his despair lift a bit.

He turned and looked at Rachel. "What about love?"

Both she and Priscilla stared at him.

**Shreveport, LA**

**Several days later**

Miles, Charlie and Bass sat in Miles' tent. Charlie and Bass were off of the IV's, but neither was anywhere near up to top condition. Miles knew that Charlie was still struggling and not sleeping well. He found Bass by her cot more than he was in his own. The disquiet he felt over that situation was growing, but he kept insisting to himself that after what they had been through, it was only natural they were drawn to each other.

Miles had called them in, and asked them to tell exactly what had happened in New Orleans. Bass had given him the bare bones of the story, but gave no indication of what had occurred to bring about the change in him. Even now, Miles could see he was much calmer and more introspective. He didn't give any details about Charlie's ordeal before he got there, because he didn't really have any. All he knew was what the King had told him. When Bass finished with the insects and their escape, Miles looked at Charlie.

"Well?" He asked her.

She stared at him; her face was set in stone. "Well, what?"

"What happened before Bass got there?"

"He told you."

"No, he told me what the King told him. I'm asking you to tell me what happened."

Her face got even harder. "They tried to make me part of their harem and I killed the men who tried. That's it."

"That's it? That's all? That's what's got you crying in your sleep at night? That's why he hasn't left your side since he woke up? Because you killed a few guys?" Miles gave her a sharp look. "I want you to tell me what happened."

Charlie looked over at Bass. But he shook his head. "You need to talk about it. You need to get it out." He told her. Charlie looked away angrily and felt tears burn in her eyes.

"Charlie." Miles tone was a command.

"Fine!" She snapped. She looked back at him. "They brought me into the city and took me right to where they kept the women. At first, I was so disgusted by all of them. They just simpered and did whatever they were told. The men laughed at me and said I was going to be just like them soon. I told them it would never happen, and then I saw what they were doing to make them like that." She closed her eyes and swallowed. "They starved them, they beat them, and they raped them. They took away their names and any semblance of self that they had. They tortured and brain washed them." She felt a tear slip over one cheek and wiped it away angrily. "One of the women was supposed to be my guide, to teach me how to behave. She said her name was 'Pearl', but that was the name they gave her. She had scars all over her face. The men told me she tried to fight them and learned the hard way what came of that."

Charlie began to shake. She took several deep breaths. "I was supposed to put on these clothes they brought me. It was my first 'step'. I refused. So they sent in two men to put me in the clothes. They were going to beat and rape me, make sure I understood who was in charge. I managed to strangle one of them, but the other one….I couldn't….I didn't have anything else." Her eyes closed again. "I felt his eyes pop under my thumbs." She started to break down, crying.

Both Bass and Miles wanted to comfort her, but they also both knew she had to get it all out first. She had to vocalize what had happened and what she had done for her healing to begin. There still wouldn't be any guarantees that she could completely heal, but until she talked about it, there was no hope.

"Another guard came in. He threw me. I couldn't stop him. He beat me and he was going to rape me. He was holding me down and I couldn't get him off. He had my hands locked above my head. The only thing I could do, the only thing I could think to do was to bite his throat out." She was sobbing now. "The other guards came in, but they had enough fear of me that they just put me in chains and beat me. They wouldn't give me water and all I could do was taste his blood in my mouth. I thought it was over. I never expected Bass to show up. I thought I was just going to wind up brain washed and one of those women. I couldn't wind up like. I couldn't be one of them." She opened her eyes back up, but wouldn't look at either of the men in the tent. "The first chance I got, I tried to bite through my own wrists, but I wasn't alone and they caught me. I fought them. I fought so hard, but before I knew I had a metal collar around my throat and my arms were chained behind my back. They put me in a room. I don't know how long I was there. It was dark and I was alone and all I could think was that by the time anyone found me, I'd be some simpering whore eager to please, who didn't even know her own name." She finally met Miles' eyes. "I just couldn't do that. I couldn't lose myself like that. I would rather die."

"It's ok." Miles told her gently.

"Its not ok." Charlie yelled. "I go to sleep now and I can feel the eyes popping under my fingers. I can taste the blood. They didn't touch me, but I still feel broken. What I did…."

"Was what you need to do to survive." Bass interrupted her. She looked at him and fresh tears welled up in her eyes. "What you had to do was horrible, but the alternative was even worse." He told her.

"Bass is right, Charlie. I know that killing men like that is so different from a gun or knife or sword." Miles sighed. "It's more intimate. It's almost impossible to step back from that. And it will stay with you, but you did what you had to do."

Miles got up and knelt down in front of her. "Charlie, you are so strong and you can get through this, but it's going to be rough."

"I don't feel strong, I feel so weak letting it affect me like this."

"You aren't weak." Bass spoke up. "I fell apart the first time I had to break a man's neck, even though it was a kill or be killed situation." She looked at him in surprise. "Fortunately, your uncle got me off my ass before I got it shot off."

"The first time I killed someone with my hands I had to strangle him." Miles added. "I had to stare in his eyes until he was dead. I threw up immediately afterwards and could see his eyes for months after."

Charlie stared at him.

"We've both been there. We understand. If you need to talk, you can come to either of us." Miles stared at her. "You hearing me?" He asked. "Because if you decided to be a stubborn dumbass and bottle this shit up, it will eat at you like a poison." Charlie nodded.

Miles glanced over at Bass and knew he was thinking the same thing. She was agreeing with them, but she wasn't really hearing them. They were going to have to keep a close eye on her. Miles had seen men lose themselves over the guilt and self hatred about actions like these and he didn't want to see Charlie get lost like that. Hell, Bass got lost after Shelly died.

Miles sighed knowing there was nothing else to be said right now.

"All right. Well, while you two were off having adventures, there have been quite a few developments around here." He went back around the desk. "How much do you two know about the nanotech Rachel and Aaron created?"

**Outside of El Paso, TX**

Connor looked around at the tent city that had sprung up around them. Every day more and more people were arriving. Tom Neville stood next to him with a huge grin on his face. Connor thought he looked even creepier when he smiled.

"Look at this. Not even the great General Sebastian Monroe could have gotten this many followers in such a short amount of time." He all but crowed.

Connor shot him a glance. "Yah, but most of them aren't soldiers. We'll have our work cut out for us, training them."

"Oh, don't worry. We're going to have help with that." Neville promised him.

"Yeah, that's what you keep saying and then you stop and hold a conversation with people who aren't really there." Connor stated.

Neville turned to him sharply. "Do you doubt me?" He snapped. "Do you doubt the powers that are helping us?"

"You told me we were going to recapture the President and head to D.C., and then you brought us to the edge of nowhere in this desert. You told me we were going to be the leaders of the Eastern seaboard, but all we seem to be doing is running an asylum for lunatics who talk to themselves, or act like weird acolytes." Connor scoffed. "I should have just let them sell Monroe when I was in Mexico. I could have been in charge of the cartel by now."

"Boy, you think too small. By the time we're done, not only will we be running the entire United States, but the entire world."

"Right." Connor said slowly. "All starting with a band of schizophrenics here in the desert." He shook his head. "What is up with that? Are you all eating the local mushrooms, or something?"

Neville got his grin back. "You mean you haven't seen anyone from your past? You haven't had loved ones who are gone, that have come back to see you and talk to you?"

Connor looked uncomfortable. There had been that night, right outside of Austin when he saw his mother, but he had chalked that up to alcohol and just a crazy dream of some sort.

"We have been chosen." Neville told him. "We are starting the fight to reclaim humanity and bring it to a level of glory that it has never seen. And once we have achieved our goal, we shall rule over everything."

Connor sighed. It was the same speech over and over. One thing he had learned in the past few months was you can't argue with crazy. He had to find a way out of here, without them suspecting. The question was, where could he head? Back to Mexico was out of the question. Maybe he should set out on his own, head to California.

He saw Neville's eyes focus on something behind him and knew he was seeing imaginary friends or family again.

"Great." He said; as he slowly slid to the side to get out of the man's line of sight. "I'm going to go check on how we are doing with food and supplies with all these new recruits. I'll let you confer with your advisors."

But Neville paid him no mind as he slipped away.

Connor walked through the tents. He had noticed a few days ago, there was a definite separation of people here. There were the ones who had been struck by the religion bug. They had a light in their eyes that practically glowed their fanaticism. The others were lawless. They lived hard and violently.

Most of the new arrivals came telling tales of swarms of insects invading the cities. They spoke of the end times and the last plagues visited on man before the Apocalypse. Some of the people claimed they were horribly hurt in the chaos of the cities, but were miraculously cured by some higher power. Connor shook his head. He needed to get away from the crazy people.

Just then, up ahead, he saw a familiar face. Nunez. Connor stopped and stared. It couldn't be.

But the more he looked the more certain he became. Connor picked up his pace and walked up to the man quickly.

"What are you doing here?" He asked, with open hostility, in Spanish.

"Connor!" The old man's face brightened with a smile. "Finally, I've found you!"

"What, so you can try to kill me again?"

"Oh, Connor. I'm so sorry about that." He shook his head sadly. "I let my anger and my fear and, quite honestly, my jealousy get the best of me. I saw you wanting to help your father and all I could think was that you were going to leave me for him, after everything I had done. I'm an old man, who's lived a very hard violent life. I reacted in the only way I knew how. Believe me; I have regretted it every day since then."

"You expect me to believe that?" Connor scoffed.

"Why else would I be here, with all of these people? I'm here to find you." The cartel leader looked at him. "I went to Austin. I heard your father was leading troops from there, I figured you'd be by his side. I was surprised to learn, he had a young girl with him instead."

Connor looked away.

"Did the two of you have a falling out?" Nunez asked. "Was it over the young woman?"

Connor laughed. "No, no Charlie is all right. She's actually the niece of Matheson. She hates my dad." He sighed. "No, my dad just cared more about his relationship with Matheson than he did about keeping his promises to me." It felt so good to see someone familiar, even though the man had tried to kill him, he had been there for him for many years. "He wanted to run into these crazy situations we couldn't win and he kept forgiving that idiot Miles for screwing him over. At the end, we could have had everything he promised me. We could have just walked into Washington and taken over, but he chose Miles over me. So I got out of there."

"I'm sorry, but don't be too hard on him. We do our best."

In the distance, Tom Neville stared at Connor. The boy stood on the corner of the tent city talking to no one.

"See, we just had to find the right ingredient." Jason, who was standing next to him, commented.

"He'll fall in line now?" Tom asked.

"I'm not sure it's his role to fall in line. We may have other plans for him."

**Shreveport, LA**

"Jesus Christ, Miles!" Bass exclaimed.

"I know." Miles said.

"You know? YOU KNOW?" Bass shook his head. "What the hell are we supposed to do with this? How in the hell do we fight microscopic computers that are everywhere?"

Miles sighed. "Rachel and Aaron are working on it. They've taken over the University in Austin and they have a team of people working with them now."

Bass snorted. "Apparently, they're making great headway considering the march of the creepy crawlies."

"We need to head back to Austin." Charlie spoke up. It was the first time she had spoken since Miles had explained what the nano had been up to. "We can't go on to Washington, not knowing what we're going to be facing there."

"That was my thought, but I wanted to get your input before making the decision." He looked at Bass, waiting.

Bass nodded. "Yeah, I agree. We don't want to head to Washington only to face an army of ticks." Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Charlie shiver and close her eyes momentarily to regain control over her fears.

"Ok then, we'll head back the day after tomorrow. That'll give you both another day of rest. Hopefully, you'll be back to fighting speed by the time we reach Austin."

"Has there been any word from my mom or Aaron since the insect attack?" Charlie asked.

"Not yet, but it usually takes close to a week to get news."

"If that's it, I'm going to turn in." Charlie said. "I'm kind of tired."

Miles studied her. "Yeah. You need your rest. At least you can get a better night's sleep in your own tent, instead of the med tent."

She nodded and stood up to leave.

Miles stopped her.

"Charlie, I meant what I said, if you need to talk, we've both been there."

"Thanks." Was all she said, but she didn't look back as she left.

Miles sighed.

"That went well." He commented.

Bass didn't say anything, lost in his thoughts.

"What happened to you down there?" Miles asked.

"What do you mean?"

"What do I mean? I mean this whole calm and collected thing; the whole not jumping up in a rage about all of this, the whole listening before reacting. Very unlike you."

Bass looked at the ground. "Maybe I finally saw what everyone else did." He said quietly.

"What the hell does that mean?"

"It means that I had no business leading anything. I was soldier and all I did was react out of fear. At first, I thought I was helping people, or at least I told myself I was, but all I cared about was myself." He looked up at Miles with a sad smile. "And those that were close to me. But I was out of control. You were right to hide Connor from me."

Miles looked at him suspiciously. "You haven't been talking to dead people, have you?"

Bass gave a small laugh. "Not about this."

"So you have seen them too?"

Bass didn't speak for a long time.

"Maybe."

**3 days before**

All he had to do was put one foot in front of the other.

One.

Two.

He stumbled and almost dropped Charlie, but quickly regained his balance. She murmured lightly, but other than that, didn't stir. He knew he was running out of time, for both of them now. He didn't stop at all since she lost consciousness, the only thing he knew was moving forward. He had to get them help.

"You're going to help someone? That's funny." Bass looked up started at the voice.

"Emma?" He croaked out.

"What are you doing?" He could see her standing there, clear as day in front of him.

"Great. I'm hallucinating." He muttered.

"What are you doing?" She asked again.

He didn't answer her.

"You know you can't save the both of you. Your best bet is to leave her. She's not going to wake up again. She won't even know."

He unconsciously held Charlie tighter to him and kept walking.

One foot.

The other foot.

"You didn't save me." Emma reminded him. "I pleaded with you to remember who you were and you got me killed. Now you've abandoned our son to help Miles and his niece and its going to get you killed. Do you really want your last interaction with Connor to be him stepping out of the way so you could be shot?"

"You aren't real." Bass growled. "This is the hunger and the thirst."

"Whether or not I'm real, does that make it any less true?" She insisted. "You put her down and you walk away and you have a chance. You go find your son and you can have everything you ever wanted. Together the two of you could rule the entire country."

"Shut up." He said.

One step.

He stumbled.

"You won't make it much farther." Another voice suddenly spoke up. Bass looked up startled.

"Shelly?" He closed his eyes in pain. "No, please, not this."

"How could you do all those things after I died?" She asked. There were tears in her eyes. "Who did you become?"

"Stop, just stop."

"And now, you are going die, here in a swamp without even trying to make amends. You are taking the easy way out." She said.

"No, I'm doing the right thing."

There was a laugh. "The right thing? Please, you wouldn't know what the right thing was if it fell out of the sky and hit you on the head." Bass looked and saw Jeremy standing there. "You're doing this because you have feelings for the girl."

Bass shook his head.

"Oh please, if this is a hallucination it's coming from your brain and you're still going to deny it?" He scoffed. "You have feelings for Miles' niece. Your best friend's niece. She's even younger than your son! Hell, she was sleeping with your son. How sick is that?" Jeremy got close to him. Bass swore, he could actually smell his breath, it smelled like whiskey. "I'd say this is about the farthest thing from 'right' you can get. I'll tell you what, if you want to do the right thing, you'll let her go and keep moving. You could get everything you wanted. You can find your son, restore the republic, and make amends. Just put her down."

Bass stood there swaying on his feet. He closed his eyes trying to will the apparitions away.

"You know that if you don't give her up, she'll wind up dead, just like us." Emma's voice chimed in.

"Has there been anyone you loved that hasn't died horribly?" Shelly's voice sounded out.

"Right now, Connor could be hurt or dying and you'll never know because you're going to die here for this silly infatuation."

"LEAVE ME ALONE!" Bass screamed out into the swamp.

Silence answered him. He opened his eyes and saw…nothing. He took several deep breaths and started moving again. He had no idea how long he walked. It could have been minutes, hours or days.

Then he heard noises coming from up ahead. He knew he should hide, he should wait and see who it was, but he couldn't do anything more than move forward. The noises got louder and then suddenly men erupted from the foliage. They stared at him in shock.

"General Monroe?" One of them called out.

He tried to speak, but didn't have any voice left at all. He finally saw, by their uniforms they were Texas troops. He felt relief sink into him and with that relief all of his strength left him and he fell to his knees. The men ran towards him and he felt one of them gently take Charlie from him. Once he was sure she was safe, he allowed the blackness to overtake him.

**Present**

Miles studied him. "I really don't know what to make of this, Bass."

"Make of what?"

"You." Miles sighed. "It all sounds really good. Everything you've done recently seems really good, but I can't just forget everything you did before."

Bass looked up at him. "And I can't forget everything you did before, Miles. Although you want to."

Miles opened his mouth to speak, but he cut him off before he could continue.

"Let me just ask you this, all that time you spent crawling out of the black pit that was 'me', did you ever stop to try and pull me out? Did you ever once come to me and tell me what you thought or how you felt? Because I sure don't remember you trying."

"You would have had me killed." Miles protested.

"You tried to kill me and I still asked you to come back. Do you really, REALLY think I would have had you killed?"

"What do you want me to say?" Miles asked.

Bass thought for a minute. "I think I want you to admit that you were wrong too. I want you to admit that you were right there with me doing all of those things and you never tried to stop me until you decided to try and kill me." Bass looked at him. "You were my brother. I idolized you. I don't know if you trying to stop me would have made things better, but wasn't it worth a shot?"

Miles stood up and walked over and poured two drinks. He came back and handed one to Bass.

"You're right." He finally said. "I was just as much to blame for what happened as you were. I didn't know how to stop it and by the time I realized how bad it was, I thought it was already too late. I did what I thought was best, but I was so far down the rabbit hole, I didn't really know which way was up."

There was silence for a while. They slowly sipped on their drinks.

"I don't know that I know which way is up, either." Bass finally said. "But I am trying here. It'd help if you gave me a chance."

"I'm trying to."

"Think there's any hope that Rachel…"

"Not a chance in hell."

"Yeah, that's what I thought."

Not far away, Charlie sat alone in her tent. She knew she needed sleep, but she was afraid to close her eyes because she knew the dreams would be waiting for her. She appreciated what Miles and Bass had told her, but she didn't think they could really help. They said they were affected the first time they had to kill someone like that, but they had been soldiers. She couldn't believe they had the nightmares and dread she felt was her constant companion now.

Even the knowledge of the nano and what they were capable of barely affected her because she was so caught up in her own fear and memories.

She could hear the camp moving around outside of her tent. Even this late, there was so much that needed to be done to keep something like this running that it was never quiet. She focused on those noises. The common sounds of every day movements; people that hadn't lived through what she had the past two weeks.

Bass probably understood better than Miles, but she knew she couldn't keep relying on him. He was becoming her crutch. The entire time they had been in the med tent, he was there whenever she woke. He made her feel safe, but she had also gotten used to waking up with him next to her in the past few weeks.

That had to stop. She needed to stay away from him to try and regain perspective. She wasn't stupid. She knew that these kinds of situations could breed a dependency, from the shared experience, but with her other confused feelings, she could not become dependent on him. She needed to stand on her own two feet and face her fears.

She stood up and started pacing. She felt so out of control. It was ridiculous. She survivedbut she just felt like they took all of her control when they forced her to kill those men like that. They took innocence from her that she could never get back and while it may not have been as bad as being raped, it was still bad.

She heard voices outside, that pulled her from her circle of thoughts.

"I wish we'd just leave that kid on the side of the road." One voice said.

"With several bullets in 'im." Came a second voice.

"If he tells me one more time, his father is going to make us pay for this…"

With a start, Charlie realized who they were talking about.

Devon.

She had completely forgotten about the boy. She had forgotten about how he left her there in the swamp to face those men alone. He probably wouldn't have made the difference between her getting captured, or not. He probably would have wound up dead.

_But he left her._

What if things had been different if he tried? What if they could have held them off long enough for the others to find them?

The more she thought about it, the harder it was for her to convince herself that he probably wouldn't have made a difference.

Bass left Miles' tent. He needed sleep, but knew there would be very little of that tonight. His mind was racing with so many different thoughts; from the nano, to his conversation afterwards with Miles, to where Connor was with Neville, to Charlie and her state of mind.

He glanced over at her tent. The light was still on, but it was late and she was probably asleep. He knew he didn't need to go over there. She was probably fine and he had no business dropping by her tent this late at night.

It was almost a surprise to him when he found himself crossing across towards where she slept.

"General Monroe, she's not in there, sir."

Bass started. He felt like a teenager getting caught sneaking into his girlfriend's bedroom window. Then the words sunk in.

"Where did she go?" He asked the soldier who was obviously patrolling this area of camp.

"She went to see the prisoner, sir."

"Prisoner?" Bass didn't make the connection.

"The deserter you sent back, Sir."

"Where is he being kept?" He asked immediately.

The soldier pointed. "On the far side in an old shed."

Without another word, Bass turned and took off in the direction he'd indicated.

His stomach churned and he hoped more than anything he arrived in time.

No one stopped him or even asked why he was racing through the camp and he was thankful for that kindness. He reached the shed the soldier had indicated. He noticed there were no guards on duty. He cursed and burst in.

"Charlie, don't!" He ordered her. Charlie stood there, her gun out, standing over the boy as he lay on the ground and sobbed.

She didn't answer him; she just stared down at the boy, impassionate.

"Charlie, don't do this!" He said again.

"He didn't even try." She said. "He just left me there." There was no emotion in her voice.

"I know, but you don't want to do this." He inched closer to her

"I don't? You said you'd kill him. I even told him I'd kill him if he risked someone's life."

"I know, but if you kill him now, like this, you'll be doing it out of revenge." He inched closer still. "If you think you feel bad now, I promise you, you will feel even worse."

Charlie didn't answer, just continued to stare at him. "What might have happened if he even tried?" She asked.

Bass was close enough now. He reached out and snatched the gun out of her hands. She looked at him in surprise, but he quickly grabbed her and hurled her out the door before she could speak. Thankfully she was still weak and he took her by surprise, otherwise, he might have had a problem. As it was, he had her outside and across the grass and pushed up against a tree before she had caught her breath to yell.

"What the hell?" She demanded.

"What the hell do you think you are doing?" He roared. She was stunned at his ferocity.

"You said before we…"

He spoke over her. "After all the shit you give me about doing the right thing. Those damn judgmental looks of yours, every time I do something you deem immoral and now you want to just go shoot some kid while he's chained up? Do you really think that's going to make you feel better? Do you really think the guilt and pain will go away? Because I'll tell you first hand, it doesn't!"

Charlie looked away from him stubbornly.

"What you did in New Orleans, you had to do! It was horrible and it will stick with you for the rest of your life, but you HAD….TO…DO…IT!" He yelled. "You don't have to do this. It will destroy you. It will destroy that part of you that tries to see the best in people, even if they don't deserve it. It will kill that strength you have inside you that causes you to stand in front of a gun at overwhelming odds, just because it's the right thing." Charlie turned her face back to him and the look on her face was changing now. "I will not let that happen. Do you understand me? Not because of that worthless kid. You are worth a thousand of him." At that his anger seemed to drain out of him and he stared down at her.

For the first time he realized how close he was to her. He had his hands on her shoulders and her hands were pressing against his chest. The tree was behind her and his body was inches away from hers. She was staring up at him with her bright blue eyes opened wide and her lips parted.

For several long moments, neither of them moved. Bass kept telling himself to let her go. He needed to let her go and step back, but he couldn't. She was hurting too much and for whatever reason she was accepting what little comfort he had to offer. She sniffled and he could see the tears welling up in her eyes.

"I can't get rid of this fear." She whispered. "I can make my mind stop replaying it over and over again." The tears fell over her eyelids and coursed down her face. "It hurts so much."

Bass closed his eyes and without realizing it tightened his grip on her, he rested his forehead against hers and opened his eyes and stared into her blue eyes. "Charlie, I've never done the right thing, we both know that. I always did the weak thing, but I can promise you that won't make it better. You think it will, but it won't." He told her.

Charlie felt the fear inside of her beginning to break apart. Part of her couldn't understand how the man who was responsible for so much of the pain she had experienced in her life could be doing this, but the overwhelming part of her just wanted him to keep holding her and scaring her demons away.

"Don't give up on yourself." He continued on. "Please, don't give up on yourself. I have to believe it will get better." She closed her eyes unable to bear the intensity in his, but somehow her hands were on top of his shoulders now, holding him to her, unable to let go. She ducked her head and felt him loosed his hold as if to release her, but she tightened wrapped her arms around his neck and rested her head on his chest. He held her gently in his arms. She knew it wasn't right, but she needed this. For whatever reason, he took away the pain and she needed it to be gone, if only for a short time.

When she went to move, Bass had immediately tried to let go, but when he felt her arms around his neck, he had wrapped his around her and held her tight. She was leaning against him now instead of the tree. All thoughts of Miles and how wrong this was had left. She was just Charlie. His second in command, the woman who he counted on, relied on and trusted; and she was in pain. He stroked her hair and whispered to her that it would be ok. She was too strong for it not to be ok. She was a good person. He kissed the top of her head, unaware of what he was doing. He just knew it felt natural, right.

Slowly, somehow things began to change. What began as an act of comfort began to take on a heat. He was aware of himself only where he ended and she began and he wanted her closer. He nuzzled her hair and breathed in her scent. Her hands were stroking the back of his neck and running through the hair that was within her fingers.

He tilted his head and ran his nose from her ear across her cheek until their lips were millimeters apart. She breathed out a sigh and he could taste her breath on his tongue. He brushed her lips with his, wanting more of her taste. He did it again and again. He could feel the pull towards her like a magnet. Each time he lingered more. He could feel her try to capture his lips but he just kept up with the light brushes, teasing her gently.

"Bass." Her voice came out in a pleading whisper and he couldn't hold back any longer. He captured her lips in a deep kiss wanting to drink down the sound of his name coming out of her like that. It was like and electrical current ran through him as he sank into her. His hands tangled in her hair and she tilted her head to give him better access to her mouth. He ran his tongue across her parted lips and felt her open her mouth wider to give him access.

Charlie had been kissed before. She had the sweet kiss from Jason and the lust filled kisses of her conquests, but nothing like this. It was sweet and passionate, comfortable and yet still set her on fire. This wasn't frantic groping racing towards a finish line. She just wanted this to continue on and on.

His hands moved down to her waist and she felt them rough and callused on her skin. She arched into him encouraging their movement without words. She let go of his neck and ran her hands across his shoulders under the over shirt he always wore over the sleeveless Tshirt. She felt his skin and his muscles under her fingers. She rubbed them lightly enjoying the way they tensed under her fingertips.

His hands moved up her waist to her rib cage pushing her shirt higher. She let out a noise between a moan and whimper. Her tongue tangled with his as he seemed to suck the noise out of her swallowing it down.

The gentle heat began to build and Charlie found herself wanting more; more skin, more contact, more Bass.

There was a loud sound of a throat clearing, that distracted her and then a voice said loudly. "General Monroe, sir!"

Bass whipped his head at the noise and his hands, pulled her shirt back down, while he made sure to cover her with his body in case there was a threat. He instinctively wanted to keep her safe. Charlie felt disoriented and bereft at the loss of contact and tried to wrap her head around what was happening.

Bass was furious at the interruption. Then his mind caught up with him and he felt embarrassment and realization course through him at the sight of the soldier standing ten feet away, studiously avoiding looking at either of them.

"What?" He barked. He let go of Charlie and stepped back.

What had he done? He was making out with Charlie, in the dark. How could he have let this happen?

"General Monroe is looking for you both, sir. He's concerned."

Bass rubbed his face with his hand to force the lingering thoughts of the softness of her skin and lips from his mind. He felt a bolt of shame run through him. She had been scared and hurting and he took advantage of her. Jesus, what kind of sick bastard was he?

"All right." He said.

"I'll go let the General know you are both fine and headed back to camp, sir." Bass finally recognized the soldier as the one who had been in the swamp with him. He had been the one who had offered to come along to free Charlie. Bass knew by his words that he wasn't going to tell anyone what he had seen, but it still didn't make it all right.

The soldier turned and walked back towards the camp. Bass looked down at Charlie. Her cheeks were flushed, but he didn't know if it was embarrassment or something else.

"I'm sorry." He told her as soon as the soldier was out of earshot. "I shouldn't have done that. It won't happen again. I'm so sorry."

He saw several different emotions flicker through her eyes, each moving so fast he couldn't identify them before she got them under control. She just nodded at him, but didn't speak.

"We should head back." He said. Part of him had wanted her to argue with him and he felt worse when she didn't. She just nodded again and turned and started walking away from him.

He felt a sharp stab of pain at what he viewed as her dismissal. He reminded himself again, how wrong this was. It didn't matter that for the first time in so long he felt feelings he thought were long since dead. It didn't matter that at the time it felt more right than anything ever had.

It…was…WRONG.

He followed her back silently. Reminding himself of this over and over. It didn't help that he could still taste her sweetness on his lips.

A/N:

Happy 4th of July to all my fellow Americans! I hope you have a safe holiday today.

So, here is chapter 5. Hopefully you all enjoyed it.

I don't have my schedule for next week, but there is a lot going in my universe. I hope to update by next weekend, but if there is a delay, please be patient. I am working on this as much as time and brain cells will allow.

Thank you so much for all the nice comments and messages. They really are wonderful and help me to push through the exhaustion and write. Although there have been times, when I've written late at night and woke up the next morning to reread and found I used the same word over and over. I think one time I used the word 'fear' 8 times in a paragraph. LOL!

As always, all mistakes are my own do to lack of beta, I hope it doesn't detract too much from the story.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6:**

It was a long slow trip back to Austin that took over 2 weeks. However, by the time they reached the city limits, Charlie and Bass were almost up to fighting condition again, at least physically. Mentally and emotionally, Miles still had his doubts.

**2 Weeks before**

Miles stood outside of Charlie's tent, worry and fury both warred within him. One of the soldiers had just returned and informed him he found Charlie and Bass and they would be returning momentarily. Miles' suspicion had gone into overdrive with this information. Exactly where had the two of them been this late at night?

Finally the two of them came into view. If possible, both of them seemed more subdued and beat down. As soon as they got close, Miles gestured for them to go into Charlie's tent and the followed without question or comment. Once inside, Miles turned on them, remembering how thin the tent's walls were. "Where the hell have you two been?" He demanded.

Bass opened his mouth to speak, but Charlie cut him off.

"I went to kill the kid."

"Excuse me? What kid?"

"The prisoner, the one who left me to be taken by New Orleans."

Miles gaped at her.

"You went to kill him?"

"Don't worry, Monroe stopped me."

Miles looked to his former friend. He looked tired and worn, but didn't disagree with her. Miles turned back on Charlie.

"Did anything I said earlier get through to you?" Miles fumed. "You sat there and nodded. And then you thought 'Hey, why don't I go shoot an unarmed kid who's chained up?'"

Charlie sighed. "Look, I already got this lecture once tonight, ok? I'm tired. The kid is fine. Can I please just go to bed?"

"That depends. Do I need to place a guard on your tent, to make sure you don't go assassin in the middle of the night?"

"The kid's alive." Charlie said again. "I'm fine. It's over, ok?"

"No, Charlie, it's not ok." Miles growled. "After everything…"

"Oh my god, Miles, enough!" She snapped at him. He blinked at her, surprised. "I heard it already, ok? Killing him isn't going to make me feel better; it'll only make things worse. I got it. Now will you both please leave so I can get some sleep?"

Miles opened his mouth to snap back at her, when Bass finally spoke up. "Just leave her alone, Brother. It's been handled. She's not going to go out there again." Miles stared both of them down. He felt like he was missing something and he didn't like it. He noticed Charlie was calling Bass 'Monroe' again. He finally sighed; realizing whatever it was it wasn't going to make his life any easier. He had to trust Bass, that it was really over for the time being and Charlie wasn't going to do anything stupid.

"Fine." He glared at Charlie. "But you….quit acting like an asshole." Charlie gave him a sarcastic grin.

"Yes sir, General." And then she turned her back to him, obviously dismissing him. Miles found himself missing the days when all he worried about was his next drink, but he turned and left without pursuing the fight. Because his back was turned, he didn't see the look that Charlie and Bass shared, although it was filled with too many emotions for him to interpret, he would have known instantly his instincts were right and there was much more to this situation.

Bass followed him out and Miles dragged him across the way to their own tents.

"Now, how worried do I have to be?"

Bass sighed. "Look Miles, she lost her head temporarily. I stopped her. I think she gets it now." He looked off for a moment. "At least, I think she realizes that killing the kid won't help. I don't know about the rest of it. You'll still need to watch her."

"Why didn't you come get me?" He demanded, suspicion still nagging at him.

"There wasn't any time. I heard the guards say she asked to see the prisoner and I realized what was up. I only barely got there."

Miles shook his head. "Well, thank you, for stopping her."

Bass nodded. Something flashed in his eyes that looked a lot like guilt. But before Miles could question him on it, Bass answered him.

"Well, I do know something about reacting out of fear and anger, don't I?"

Miles sighed, appeased with that explanation.

"Just get some rest." He said, wearily. With that he turned and entered his own tent, but sleep really didn't enter the picture for him as he stayed up worrying, about Charlie, about Rachel and what tomorrow would bring.

**Present**

Charlie and Bass rode on either side of Miles. Charlie was subdued and barely spoke, she certainly didn't initiate any conversations in the past few weeks and Miles was getting more and more concerned about her mental state.

She was also pushing her recovery. Before she was really able he and Bass found her out training with different soldiers. She pushed herself harder and harder. He and Bass both kept an eye on her, making sure she didn't push too hard. But when either of them tried to talk to her she just stared at them in a careful measured way.

Miles would be relieved when they got back and hopefully Rachel would be able to get through to Charlie.

Bass wasn't much better. Whatever he experienced in New Orleans seemed to have brought about a more pronounced change than Miles had first suspected. Instead of the cold General who constantly just acted, now he seemed plagued by doubts and unable to make even the most basic decisions. Miles wasn't even sure what he'd be like if he had to fight right now.

Miles got the impression that whatever battle Charlie and Bass had over the kid that night was a lot worse than Bass had let on. Charlie was still referring to him as 'Monroe', they barely spoke, and when they did, it usually erupted into a screaming match. While Bass may be much calmer than he usually was, Charlie seemed to bring out his anger quite effectively. Compared to the way they seemed when they first came back and the bond that formed between them, Miles wasn't sure whether he should be relieved or more concerned. At this point, however, he was leaning towards concerned.

A rider was suddenly on the road ahead of them riding towards them fast. Everyone tensed, not really expecting trouble with Austin in sight, but careful none the less.

The rider came straight up to them and jerked to a halt.

"General Matheson, a message for you!" The rider stated.

Miles glared at him. Whatever was so urgent that it couldn't wait until they got to the city couldn't be good. He grabbed the message and tore it open.

"Son of a Bitch!" He swore after reading its contents.

"What?" Charlie asked.

Miles looked up at the rider. "She couldn't have waited just a few more days?"

The rider looked alarmed. "Sir, I was just asked to give this to you, I don't know…."

"Of course you don't." Miles snapped. "Just….go" Miles waved him off and the rider left.

"What is going on?" Charlie demanded. Miles stopped the troops and got off his horse, he motioned for Charlie and Bass to follow him out of earshot of the rest of their men.

"Your mother." Miles visibly gritted his teeth. "She hadn't heard from your Grandfather or Willoughby since the insect attack, so she took it upon herself to head down there."

Next to him, Bass let out a humorless chuckle and Charlie cursed.

"We need to head down there." Charlie said

"Yeah, but it could be a trap." Miles offered.

"So we take some troops." Charlie insisted.

"When we don't know what we're facing? It's dangerous."

"It's my mom."

"I'm aware, Charlie."

"Well, we have to do something. If you don't want to go, I'm going."

"Would you just wait a minute and let me come up with a plan?" Miles looked to Bass. "What do you think?"

"I just don't know, Miles." Bass hesitated.

Miles felt his frustration go up another notch. Before Bass would have had an opinion, even if it was a 'wrong' one, he would have had an opinion.

Charlie openly scoffed at him.

Bass shot her a look. "Is there something you wanted to say?"

She shrugged. "I don't know reverend. I thought maybe you wanted to take a moment to pray on it."

"I'm sorry, that I'm trying to stop and consider instead of jumping into things."

"No, you're scared to act. Let's be clear. While you're 'considering', my mom could be dying…or worse. If you want to suddenly become a pacifist, fine. Then go join a monastery and become a monk. We need to prepare for war!"

"Right, and the way to win that would be to chain them all up and shoot them in the head, right?"

"Like that's something you haven't done before."

"Maybe that's why I'm taking the time to consider now!"

She gave him a small smile.

"Too little, too late. When we need you to act like a General you decide to turn into the Dalai fricken Lama."

"You know what, Charlie…!"

"ENOUGH!" Miles yelled. "Jesus, could we please have one conversation without the two of you ready to rip each other's throats out?" He looked at Charlie. "And how do you know about the Dalai Lama?"

"My dad had some of his books; he made us read them as kids." She answered. But she and Bass didn't stop their glaring match.

Realizing that with the two them, nothing would be decided, Miles turned towards her. "Charlie, leave us alone for a few minutes."

"He's acting like a pussy and I have to leave?"

Bass advanced on her threateningly. She stood her ground but moved into position to attack. Miles was in between them. "I said that's enough! Charlie, GO! NOW!"

She spun and flew back towards the troops. Bass watched her go, but didn't relax until she was well out of sight.

Miles turned back to him. "You know she has a point, you've picked a hell of a time to try and find your conscience."

"I'm sorry, Miles. I wish I had the luxury of years, to sit and stew over my actions like you had. Maybe that's what I should do, just disappear and hide at the bottom of a bottle."

Miles let out a laugh. "Oh, that's beautiful."

"Isn't just? Or maybe I can just rely on Rachel to make the moral decisions for me."

"So what do you want to do, Bass? Wring your hands over every thought? Worry over every kill you make from now on? Seriously?"

"Maybe I just need some time!"

"We don't have time!" Miles yelled. "I can't use you like you were before Shelly died. I need you to be here for this."

At that Bass started laughing.

"WHAT?" Miles shouted after a few seconds of listening to it.

"You can't use me? YOU can't USE me? Because I'm only of use to you if I'm able to kill people…well as long as I take orders from you or make decisions you agree with?" There was no anger in his voice now, just amusement.

"Goddammit, Bass, we are facing a war here. I need your head in this."

"My head is in this, maybe just not in the way you want."

Miles took a step forward. "You know what? Do whatever you want. I'm going to get the troops back to Austin and take some and head to Willoughby with Charlie. I don't have time to hold your hand."

Bass scoffed and turned away from him. He heard Miles stomp away and then he heard him yelling out orders. Bass stared off in the distance for several long moments and then he heard someone approach behind him.

"Don't. Just don't, Charlie." He warned. The anger was clear in his voice.

"Look, I do get it. You don't know how to make decisions as a General anymore because you are too afraid."

He spun around. "I said 'don't'." He growled at her, but she didn't back down.

"You need to change your perspective. You were a soldier before anything. You need to look at it like that. Think about how you would want to be led. Think of decisions that would affect you as well. It will help remind you that you are leading people, not just pawns."

He stared at her. She sighed.

"My mom and my grandfather could be in danger. I know you hate her and don't care much for him, but we need you. Please."

"All right." He said quietly. They stared at each other for a few moments. Bass had been pretending to ignore her since the night they kissed, but it was only an act. In reality, he was hyper aware of her. He always knew where she was and if she was within 10 feet of him, he was aware of her every movement. When he wasn't around her, he was constantly fighting with himself over going to find her and checking on her, trying not to remember the way she had said his name that night or the way she felt in his arms.

Charlie looked like she wanted to say more, but then she just turned and walked away. Her hands were clenched at her sides. It was obvious she had gone back to hating him and he deserved it for taking advantage of her like that. That had him doubting himself more than anything. If he was someone capable of something like that, how far over the edge was he? And knowing how wrong it was, how could he be still fighting with himself over his desire for her? Except it wasn't just desire. He had feelings for her.

His own hands clenched. There was only one fact. It was wrong.

He followed the path that Charlie just took. None of it mattered. If he wanted to make amends, she needed his help. He needed to focus on what was ahead for her and Miles. They were right; he was no help to anyone stuck in his own head like this. He walked up to where Charlie and Miles were standing obviously making plans to leave.

"Get me 20 men to send with us. You lead the rest back into Austin. I'm sending a message to Blanchard explaining we'll meet with him when we get back." Miles was telling his own Lieutenant.

"You're gonna need more than 20." Bass told him when he got within earshot. Miles looked up at him with slight surprise.

"You back in the game, then?"

"Apparently, I have to be, with you making decisions like that."

"Really? What do you suggest?"

"If we're worried about insects, we need at least 50. We also need blankets or shirts, or fabric torn up to make masks to cover noses and mouths."

Miles nodded and turned to his Lieutenant. "You heard him."

Charlie spoke up. "And anything flammable." They both focused on her.

"Good idea, insects don't do well against fire." Miles said. He looked at both of them. "All right, let's get it together; I want to leave out within the hour."

They nodded and went to get prepared to travel.

Charlie was relieved to be away from both of them for the moment. She felt like she was going to explode. The nightmares still weren't letting her sleep much and she still felt so hollow inside. The only time that it had let up was the night Bass stopped her from killing Devon, the night they kissed. She knew he was right, when he told her it was a mistake. There was no way in hell that it could ever be right, except it didn't feel wrong at the time.

Since then he had been ignoring her and it hurt. It fucking hurt. She missed the son of a bitch! How had it even come to this, where Monroe was one of the people who knew her best and she was used to spending her time with? When did he become the one she depended on?

Now, with as bad as she felt and the situation the only times she didn't feel completely lost was when she was fighting and training. Or when she was attacking Monroe. Since he was determined to ignore her, she was determined to be enough of a bitch he couldn't. It had led to quite a few screaming matches. She knew logically she was being immature; it was obvious he was struggling as much as she was. She just had so much anger inside of her and the one person who she had come to rely on was now unavailable and it was the only way she could deal with being around him all the time.

Still, when it came down to it, she had to go talk to him. She knew they needed him to go after her mother, and if she had to admit it, she was not confident herself anymore and would feel better with him fighting beside her if it came to it. It was the first real talk they'd had since the night they had kissed, but keeping their distance didn't lessen the longing she felt. By the time she had walked away, her hands had been clenched at her sides in an attempt to not reach out to him. He looked so uncertain and lost. All she had wanted was to offer him the same comfort he had offered her. Unfortunately, look how that had ended.

Charlie knew she needed to get away. She needed to leave and be by herself for a while. She was planning on talking to Miles when they got back; find a mission she could go on, some sort of reconnaissance maybe, that would require her to leave. But first they had to go find her mom and grandfather. She just had to hold it together a little bit longer. And hopefully she would find her mother and grandfather alive and well.

~.~

**Austin, TX**

"Ok, so we have a list of all the different chemicals the brain produces when it's in love." Aaron told Priscilla. The two had been doing research in the library at the University for days. "Now we need to come up with a way to find out if any of those chemicals have an adverse effect on the nano."

"How do you propose we do that? We don't have the capability anymore to run those kinds of test or to synthesize those chemicals."

Aaron sighed. "Well, hopefully Rachel will come back soon and she'll have some sort of ideas."

He read over his notes again.

"Wait, if they are trying to change people by altering the limbic system, then quite possibly, its dopamine that would be the one that would have an adverse effect on them. That's got a lot to do with the limbic system." He said.

"Ok, but that still doesn't tell us much."

"But it does, because opiates can increase the dopamine produced, so all we'd have to do is…."

"What? Get our hands on some heroin? Aaron, stop and think. Even if this was the answer, where would we find heroin and would you really want to test that theory?"

"Actually, Miles knew a guy…."

Priscilla sighed and stood up. She walked over to the window and stared out of it. "There has to be more to this." She shook her head, but didn't continue. Aaron stood up and walked over to her.

"I know you're tired, we've been working on this nonstop for days. Go get some rest."

She turned and looked at him, there were tears in her eyes. "I miss my girls. I just want to see them again." The tears rolled down her face. "If we can't come up with a way to beat this, I want to see them; I want to hold them. Even if it's just for one more time."

Aaron pulled her into a hug. "I'm so sorry. I wish we had found them. Blanchard sent men to the town they were living in, but they had already left. No one knows where they went."

"I don't want their last memory of me to be that mommy was going insane." Priscilla cried. "Children are so ingenuous. They see things and it leaves such a lasting mark on them, it's so hard to undo those first feelings and images."

"I know." Aaron soothed her. "But they are your kids, you will find them again and you can explain everything."

Priscilla laughed weakly and pulled away. "You don't understand. The ideas and memories formed in childhood leave lasting impressions. Even years later, people can be terrified of dogs because of a traumatic incident in their childhood. It severe cases it can take years of therapy…." Her voice trailed off.

"What?" Aaron asked her.

"What if that's it?" She looked up at him.

"What's it?"

"What if we are looking at this too analytically?" She got excited and started searching through the library shelves.

"What are you talking about?" He insisted.

She turned to look at him. "You woke the nano up. It gained consciousness, then it slowly began to learn, much like children do."

"Ok?"

"Well, as it was learning about people, it was right after the bombs dropped, so mainly what it discovered was our fear and hatred. It may view love as an aberration of the human condition. So it acclimated itself to feeding off of our fear and hatred and our baser emotions."

"Which is what we already decided."

"Yes, but you are looking at it from chemical and biological sides. What if we can teach it? What if we can show it there is much more?"

"You want to put the nano in therapy to teach it how to love?"

"Is that really crazier than feeding people heroin to try and resist it?"

Aaron stood there and just opened and closed his mouth several times, completely unsure of what to say.

~.~

**Outside Willoughby**

They had ridden hard and approached the outskirts to Willoughby rather quickly. Charlie had no trouble locating the most recent tracks that headed there and they were certain they were on Rachel's trail, but not too far behind her. Miles was pushing hard, trying to reach her before she reached the town, however, with 50 men and supplies it was almost impossible to match the speed of a single rider.

The sun was just beginning to set when suddenly Charlie pulled up short and pointed. There was smoke up ahead of them.

"It's about the size of a campfire." Miles commented.

"Think it's my mom?" Charlie asked. "Her tracks head off in that direction."

"Your grandfather's house is also that way, it stands to reason."

"I'll go in ahead and make sure. If it isn't mom, we won't be able to get the drop on them with all the troops."

"No." Bass spoke for the first time since they left.

"Excuse me?" Charlie turned towards him.

"I said 'no'." He repeated himself.

"You don't think I can do it?" She snapped.

"I think I just almost got myself killed the last time you went out to play cowboy and I'm not really in good enough shape to do it again."

"No one asked you to then and they aren't asking you now." Charlie growled.

"Ok, ok." Miles interrupted. "Let's just stop this before it gets started." He sighed. "I'm going in to see if it's Rachel. You two stay here with the troops. I'll signal if it's all clear." He got down off his horse and looked up at them. "If you could refrain from killing each other, that'd be just nifty." With that he headed off in the direction of the fire. For several long moments there was silence, and then Charlie spoke, unable to handle the heaviness in the quiet.

"You really think I'm incapable of sneaking up on a camp fire?" She snapped at Bass.

"I think you are so determined to prove you are 'ok' and in control you wouldn't have just snuck up on that camp fire. If they were enemies, you would have jumped right in head first, just to prove you could."

"More Monroe Wisdom for your years as an evil overlord." She snarked.

"Something like that." He said simply.

"You should have stayed behind with the troops." She snapped.

"Well you asked me to come, didn't you?"

She opened her mouth to answer, but just then a long whistle came through the night. Miles' all clear signal. The motioned to the troops and took off after him.

It didn't take long to reach the camp. It was on the edge of her grandfather's property. Charlie felt the fear that lived inside her now, rear up when she realized that if everything was ok, her mother would be inside the house. Miles was on the ground talking urgently to Rachel. Charlie jumped off her horse and ran over almost before the horse came to a complete stop.

"Rachel." Miles was saying. "Rachel, talk to me."

"Mom?" Charlie cried the fear evident in her voice. "MOM?" She shouted to try and get her attention.

"She doesn't talk." A small voice said. Charlie turned in alarm. There on the other side of the fire, was a small boy crouched low.

"Who are you?" Charlie asked gently.

"I'm Adam." The little boy stood up and came closer. He was so thin that Charlie winced at the sight of him. "I live here. Or I lived here. Before the bugs came. Now everyone's dead. My mom and dad hid me where they couldn't get me, but they died. Everyone died."

"Everyone?" Charlie asked. She looked towards her grandfather's house.

"I found her." The boy pointed to Rachel. "But she doesn't talk. I started a fire. My dad taught me how to start a fire."

Charlie felt the fear bubbling inside of her as she listened to the boy, but kept staring at her grandfather's house.

"It's all my fault, Miles." Her mother's voice came out gravely and her eyes were focused on Miles. "It's my entire fault again. They did this because of me."

Charlie let out a sob, but jumped up and headed quickly for the house. She heard footsteps behind her, but didn't even have to turn to know that Bass was following close behind her. However, he didn't try to stop her, just followed her up the steps to the door.

When she reached it she came to a stop, she finally looked behind her uncertainly. He met her eyes and nodded. He was with her. It gave her the strength to grab the knob and push it open. The sun was setting now and the sky had turned a dark pink in the clouds. The light came through the western windows bathing the house in a red light.

"Grandpa?" Charlie called. Then the smell hit her. The smell of rotting. Charlie gagged and for a minute she wasn't in her grandfather's house, she was back on that roof top in New Orleans, watching the wave of insects.

She felt a hand on her back. "Charlie…." Bass whispered.

"No." She said and forced herself to move forward. She had to see.

She followed the smell into the kitchen. The red light from the sunset gave everything a surreal quality, but it wasn't enough light to see clearly.

There on the floor was a shape, the smell was thick in the air here.

"Grandpa?" She said again, but this time there were tears in her voice. She went to get closer when the shape started moving. Her eyes focused in the dim light and then she could see, thousands of insects covered the corpse of what was once her grandfather. "NO!" She screamed and went to dart forward. Before she got too far, strong arms grabbed her and pulled her backwards.

"NO!" She screamed again as she struggled against Bass.

"Charlie, you don't need to see anymore!" He yelled, propelling her back through the house. She fought against him, but couldn't break his hold as he yanked her outside on the porch. He finally let her go and she collapsed to her knees. She took several deep breaths and then her stomach turned and she started throwing up there on the porch.

Bass knelt down behind her and grabbed her hair to keep it from getting into her sickness. When everything in her stomach had come up, she knelt there as dry heaves shook her. He didn't speak, just rubbed her back soothingly as she looked up and stared across the yard. As the final light faded from the sky it looked like everything was bathed in blood.

**One Year Before the Blackout**

**Willoughby, Texas**

Young Charlie Matheson hid under the bed in her room at her grandparent's house. Tears streamed down her face. She heard footsteps enter the bedroom. They walked slowly across the floor until she could see them directly in front of them from her hiding spot.

"Charlie?" Her grandfather's voice came.

She didn't answer, but a loud sniffle escaped her.

She heard him sigh. "Charlie, I know you're in here. Come out now."

She didn't move. Her grandfather knelt down and pulled up the dust ruffle.

"Charlie, come out from under there, please?"

She shook her head 'no', still crying.

"Charlie, we know it was an accident. We know you didn't mean to break the vase, but this is why we told you not to run in the house."

She started sobbing. "I didn't mean to grandpa. I was just playing and I tripped. Now gramma hates me and you're gonna hate me too!" She cried.

Her grandfather reached under the bed and pulled her out. He picked her up and sat down on the bed with her in his lap. "Charlie, we could never hate you. We love you."

Charlie sniffled loudly. "I broke gramma's vase that her gramma gave her. You won't love me anymore!" She wailed.

"Yes, we do." He assured her again.

"Gramma won't." She cried.

"Of course she will. She's just upset because that vase meant a lot to her."

"You're gonna send me away like Mommy and Daddy did. They love Danny more so they sent me here. Now you're gonna send me away too!"

"Oh, Charlie, that's just not true." He held her tight. "Your parents sent you here because Danny is sick and they need to be with him in the hospital. They sent you here because they do love you, so much, they wanted to make sure you weren't alone."

"Danny is always sick, they are always worried about him and when they aren't they just fight with each other. They never think about me!" She yelled.

"They are just worried because Danny is so sick. He's not like other kids. He will be sick for a long time. He needs you. You're mom and dad are just so worried and they don't know what to do. They need you to be a big girl and strong for them. They do love you so much."

"It doesn't feel like it." She cried. "They never want to play or go anywhere. Then they sent me here. You and gramma at least will play with me, but now you won't cuz you're not gonna love me anymore!"

"Charlotte Matheson, you listen to me and you listen to me good." He pushed her back a bit so he could look into her eyes. "Your grandmother and I will always love you. There is nothing in the world that you could ever do that would make us stop loving you. We aren't going to send you away. We love you too much. You can always count on us. Even when we aren't with you, the one thing you can always count on is that we love you."

Charlie's cries subsided, big blue eyes stared up at him, red from crying with a runny nose.

"I love you grandpa." She said.

"I love you, too." He told her. "And your gramma loves you too."

"But she's still mad."

"How about we go downstairs and you apologize and I'm sure she won't be mad anymore, ok?"

Charlie nodded shakily.

"But no more running the house."

She nodded again.

"C'mon, lets go." He urged and she stood up.

"Grandpa?" She took his hand as they started to leave the room. "Can I please stay here with you and Gramma, instead of going back home with Mommy and Daddy? I promise I'll be good and never run in the house again."

Her grandfather knelt down to look at her again. "Charlie, I know you think they don't love you, but your parents love you very much and they would miss you so much if you stayed here. When you get home Danny should be doing a lot better and, you'll see, things will be different."

Charlie looked up at him seriously. "They'll never love me as much as you and gramma do."

"I promise you, they do." He told her.

She looked doubtful, but nodded at him.

**Present**

The bright orange glow lit up the night sky as the entire town of Willoughby burned to the ground. There were no survivors, besides the little boy. Miles and Bass thought it was best to just burn the town as it was instead of trying to bury all of the bodies. They organized their men and they went building to building, house to house, burning them all to the ground.

The five of them stood there and stared up at the smoke and ashes that floated up into the night. Rachel was supported by Miles. She was almost as bad as she had been after they had fled the Tower.

Charlie stood off to the side, by herself. After her dry heaves on the porch stopped, she seemed to fold in onto herself. Her face was a mask as she stared upwards, lost in her thoughts and memories.

Bass stood a few steps behind the grieving family. His eyes focused on Charlie. He had watched her close up after her breakdown on the porch and knew she was shutting herself off even more from her emotions. When she had stood up finally, she turned and looked at him, there wasn't even any anger in her gaze at him, there was just…nothing. He tried to talk to her, but she just walked away, over to where Miles was still trying to comfort Rachel. He had hoped Miles would notice the state Charlie was in, but he was so distracted with Rachel's state, he seemed to believe her when Charlie told him she'd be ok.

Bass ached for her. He wished he knew what he could do to take away her pain, he wished things hadn't gotten so screwed up that she still viewed as something of a friend and she would let him help her. He would give anything just to be able to help.

Bass felt eyes watching him and turned his head. Next to Rachel, the young boy stood there, staring up at him. For a split second, Bass swore the look in the kid's eyes was years beyond his age and maturity level. But it was gone in an instant and Bass realized it was just a trick of the fire's glow and his own exhaustion and mental state. He gave the kid an encouraging smile of commiseration and the boy gave him a watery smile back before turning and staring once again at the night sky. Bass turned his eyes back to Charlie and resumed his worrying over the girl.

Once he turned back around 'Adam' let a cold smile come over his face. This was absolutely delicious. While as the nano they could see all of the human's thoughts and feelings in their mind, being here like this and watching them with their own senses was so much fun. Poor Rachel was trapped inside her own mind guilt and pain feeding off each other like a hurricane ramping up more and more. Miles was beside himself with worry for the woman. Charlie and Monroe were in just as bad shape and trying to hide their shameful feelings for each other from the others and from themselves, while also dealing with their own pain.

This was the tight knit band that thought they had a chance of standing against them? These people were so alone, even while they prided themselves on their togetherness and family. Part of his consciousness wanted to assimilate them as they did the others, force them with actions and war. He wanted to just watch them destroy themselves. Yes, he would help push things in the direction he wanted, but the humans were simple creatures. He wanted to play with them. See how far he could push their pain and fear until they asked to be assimilated.

This child, 'Adam' they were using as a vessel, actually didn't have a name. He didn't know his parents or where he came from. All the child knew was he grew up as a slave, in a camp, where he was regularly beaten and starved. The nano found his hatred and pain and he had welcomed them just for the chance to escape his life.

This was how they treated the most innocent and fragile of their species. Humans were such hopelessly flawed creatures. All they could do was hurt each other and themselves. They got stuck in patterns of behavior, even knowing the actions they took were wrong. Over and over again they made the same mistakes and lived with that knowledge. Humans, it was amazing they even made it past their primitive state.

There were factions, within the nano, they swore there were other sides to this species. They swore the humans were capable of 'miracles', of great acts of love and compassion. However, as this boy's consciousness knew, these were aberrations of the norm. Millions of humans lived their lives every day with nothing but their own selfish needs to guide them.

No, the new era had come, the humans needed to be assimilated and altered to live up to their full potential.

Eventually, when they all were within the fold, the nano would then be able to start unlocking the deeper secrets and powers of their brains. So far, the humans had only unlocked 10% of the incredible gift of their minds, with the nano's help they would be able to open it up full scale and see exactly what treasures they could find within them.

However, that was the long term plan. For now, Adam just wanted to watch. He would stay here with his creators. He would watch them, watch their pain and how they fragmented. He would watch until they realized the futility of their struggles to maintain their independence, until they realized that the peace they could have, if only they gave in, would be the best thing they could ever do.

~.~

**1 Week Later**

**Austin, TX**

Bass wondered how this became his life. He stood in a shady dive bar on the outskirts of the main city of Austin, watching Charlie order drink after drink. This had become his nightly ritual, following the girl, making sure she didn't get into too much trouble in her state of mind. Every night since they got back he'd been keeping an eye on her, watching while she went out after spending her days working her body to exhaustion with training, then drank copious amounts of alcohol before picking up some random stranger and leaving with them. The entire process set his teeth on edge, but there was nothing he could do to stop it. All he could do was watch her back.

Only tonight seemed different. Tonight she hadn't had her usual fake swagger or fetching smile on her face. She just sat down at the bar and ordered drink after drink, downing those even faster than normal. She sat there slumped, obviously lost in her thoughts.

Two men approached her and while he couldn't hear, he could tell by the look on her face they were getting the sharp side of her tongue. One of the men didn't appear to appreciate that, because he knelt down in her face. She got a cold smile and when the man reached out to touch her, she broke one of his fingers. The other man moved to get involved, but before he could act, Bass was across the bar and had a knife to his throat.

"You want to move on." He growled in his ear.

The man growled back, but knew he was beaten. Bass released him and both the men walked away.

He looked down at Charlie, who glared up at him.

"Decided to quit skulking in the shadows and come out?" She asked, as she downed another drink.

"What the hell are you doing Charlotte?" He demanded.

"Having a drink, Sebastian." She answered snidely.

He sat down across from her and motioned for the bartender to bring him one. "You know that's not what I mean. What are you doing here? You are heading down a very dark road."

"You know what's really annoying? You've been 'reformed' now, for what? A few weeks and you want to sit here and tell me I'm going down a dark road." She laughed. "Give me a break."

He leaned forward and glared at her. "I used to be a lot more like you than I did Miles." He told her. "Even after the Blackout, I wanted to do what was fair, even if it meant going without. I wanted to stay out of it, let the world sort itself out." He sat back and looked away and swallowed. He couldn't believe he was about to tell her this, but nothing else was getting through to her. When he looked back, his glare had softened, but his gaze remained serious. "I met someone, a few years in. I loved her more than I can tell you. It was the first time I committed to someone and even though we were living in hell, I was happy." He took a drink. "She got pregnant and the fool that I was, I was ecstatic. I was worried about how hard it would be, but I truly thought that it would be ok." He looked down at his drink. "Then she died, in my arms, in childbirth. The blood from her and my unborn child was all over me." Charlie's eyes opened wide. He looked up and met her gaze. "After that, human life meant nothing to me. All I knew, all I wanted was to have control over everything, so I wouldn't have to lose anyone else I cared about."

Charlie didn't say anything, her alcohol infused brain tried to process what she had just been told.

"I don't claim to be 'reformed' Charlotte, but I do see my actions a lot more clearly now."

She looked away, unable to bear his gaze any longer. He was making her feel her pain and that was something she didn't want to do.

She looked back at him, with a glare of her own. "Today is Danny's birthday." She was gratified to see his wince, it helped firm up her anger and push down the pain. She took a large drink, hoping to stop the burn of the liquor would stop the remaining pain. "My family is gone." She told him. "What do I have left? My mom? Miles?" She laughed. "Well, I guess I can't expect them to remember, neither of them was there when we were growing up, right?" She took another drink. "Plus Mom has a substitute child to raise now." Bass just watched her and didn't say anything. She thought he'd rise to the bait, defend himself for the death of her brother and she'd get the opportunity to unleash her anger on him, but he just sat there watching her. His eyes held something like regret and sympathy.

She turned away as the look brought her pain back up. She felt her eyes burn with tears. She opened her mouth, to yell at him and accuse him of killing her family, but something else came out entirely.

"I don't have anyone left. I'm alone and I don't even have myself anymore." She looked back at him as her eyes filled. "I used to look at the world so differently, even after all that happened. I didn't think we stood a chance against the Patriots, but I still tried to find moments to be happy. Now, I don't see anything to be happy about. I just wait for the next awful thing to happen. I wait to lose someone else I care about. So I don't want to care about anyone else, not even myself. After Neville found out I killed Jason, I realized despite everything, I wanted to live. I don't care anymore. Because what living is probably going to mean, is losing everything." The tears in her eyes boiled over and she wiped at them angrily. "And I'm so tired of the pain and the fear. The anger takes it away, distracts from it for a while."

"Until you wake up in the middle of the night with it choking you." Bass commented.

She looked at him in surprise. "Yeah, I do know something about this." He said. "I can't make it stop, I never figured out how, but I promise you, this isn't the way. And I am here if you need to talk."

Charlie gritted her teeth. She hadn't meant to admit any of this to him. She blamed the alcohol for her loose tongue. She also blamed him, because he did make her feel better. After they got back from New Orleans, he had been the only one who had made her feel better. Sometimes, when she woke in a panic he would just sit there and distract her, telling her plotlines to his favorite movies or just talking about gossip he was hearing about the troops. Then came the night they kissed and it all fell apart.

More than anything she wanted to talk to him about that, but she hadn't had that much to drink. She still knew that whatever feelings she had developed that it was the ultimate taboo. She took a deep breath to get herself under control. "I need to get back. I need to go to sleep." She said.

"I'm walking you back." He told her. "You are in no condition to wander back yourself."

"I'll be fine." She insisted.

"It wasn't a question, Charlotte." He told her.

She sighed. She just wanted to be away from him, but she could tell there would be no arguing with him.

"Fine." She said.

When they hit the night air, she was grateful he was there. She swayed a bit on her feet and realized how drunk she was. They walked back in silence. He let her stumble along, making sure she never actually fell, but letting her pick her own way along.

They had all taken up residence in an old dormitory at the college. The troops they still had in their command were also staying in another dorm. Work had begun on slowly trying to outfit the buildings to withstand insect attacks. Something proving most impossible.

They finally reached the dorm and he followed as she shakily made her way up the steps. First thing she did, was use the dorm restroom, it had been a long walk back and she had to pee. She was surprised he was still waiting for her when she emerged, since her door was right down the hall. She stumbled slightly around him and made her way to her room. She opened the door and looked inside. It was neat as a pin. She cleaned it almost compulsively. She also rearranged the meager furnishings about once a day. Turned out you had a lot of spare time when you only slept about 2-3 hours a night.

"_Until you wake up in the middle of the night with it choking you."_

His voice reminded her.

"Get some sleep Charlie." His actual voice startled her out of her thoughts. She didn't want to go in there. She turned and looked at him.

"Stay with me." The words came out before she could stop them or think about them. His eyes widened in shock. "Like after New Orleans, please." She felt the need to clarify. She just wanted his presence. She couldn't face being alone tonight. She wanted just one night to feel peace and get some rest.

His mouth opened and closed a few times and he looked away. She suddenly felt foolish and embarrassed for asking. She went to tell him to forget it, but he spoke.

"Ok." His eyes met hers and she relaxed. He understood, she could tell.

She walked in the room and sat down on the bed, slowly taking off her shoes. Unfortunately, her brain couldn't seem to process how to undo the knots. He had followed her in and shut the door. After a few minutes of watching her struggle to untie her boots, he laughed and knelt down batted her hands away and quickly undid them. "You are going to have one hell of a headache tomorrow." He commented. She felt the irrational need to stick her tongue out at him, instead she fell back on the bed and threw her feet up. He shook his head, a smile coming to his face as he watched her. Then he looked around uncomfortably. He grabbed the chair by the desk and pulled it near the bed and sat down in it. He looked around and saw a stack of books on her nightstand table and grabbed one. Hopefully, she would pass out quickly and he could distract himself from where he was with reading.

He kept one eye on her though instead of paying any attention to the words on the page. She stared up at the ceiling blankly, lost in her own world. After several moments, he watched a shudder run through her. Then another. Then her face crumpled and she dissolved into tears. He dropped the book and grabbed her. Somehow he found himself lying next to her on the bed; with his arms tight around her while she sobbed uncontrollably and clung to him.

"My Grandpa is gone." She said. He didn't answer, just held her while she let it all out. He knew she hadn't mourned the old man, but he also knew this wasn't just about that. It was about everything she had lost. He had no idea how long he held her while she cried, eventually she did cry herself out and he heard her breathing even out. He rolled slowly onto his back, thinking she had fallen asleep, but she clung to him and her head rested on his chest. He heard her voice, barely a whisper. "You do make it better." Then there was nothing but her breathing.

He closed his eyes. He knew he should stay alert and leave as soon as he could. God knows what would happen if Miles or Rachel found them like this, but he couldn't let her go. She made it better for him as well and he just wanted to hold on to this moment for a little while longer. He tightened his grip around her briefly hugging her to him and then he relaxed and let her breathing pull him into sleep.

A/N: Ok, first of all to everyone who read, reviewed, messaged, favorite, and followed this, THANK YOU and I'm so sorry for the delay. Quite honestly, I'm exhausted. Beyond exhausted. Work and everything else has me completely swamped and beat down. I have been working on this chapter for about a month and quite honestly, I don't even know where it came from because none of this was in my outline. I don't know if its any good or just repetitive. I don't think much happens in it.

I actually had someone willing to beta for me, but the long delays and me constantly not sending her anything I think she got busy. So once again, all the mistakes are on me. I've tried to reread this tonight before posting, hopefully its not just a complete mess.

I am going to keep writing this and I am working on it every day, but I honestly don't know when I'll be able to update again. August is looking like it will be even more insane than July and I barely made it through July. So please be patient with me. I promise, I'm not giving up.

Thank you again for the kind words and support, the little pokes I get from you all have made me write several times in the last month when all I wanted to do was melt into the couch.


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